Serena Williams took less than an hour to cruise into the second round of the Australian Open today.
Williams defeated France's Camille Pin 6-1 6-1 in just 56 minutes as she began her quest for a first Grand Slam title since winning in Melbourne two years ago.
"I was a little nervous going into it but after the first game I was okay," said the seventh seed, who was out for eight months after winning Wimbledon in 2003 following knee surgery.
"I think that is just first round nerves."
Williams' injury problems have seen her slip down the world rankings and her seventh place at the end of last year was her lowest since 1998.
Wimbledon champion Maria Sharapova described her game as a "work in progress" today, despite turning in an impressive performance to beat 15-year-old Bulgarian Sesil Karatantcheva 6-3 6-1.
The 17-year-old Russian, seeded fourth, crunched 15 winners on her way to victory in exactly an hour.
Sharapova nevertheless maintained she had plenty of room for improvement.
"Like I've said before many times, I cannot win everything," she said.
"You never know what can happen, and I'm still developing my game. It's not that (because) I won a grand slam, all of a sudden I'm going to win everything. I understand that. And that's why my game is still a work in progress."
Karatantcheva, the world number 110, showed few signs of nerves in just her second grand slam event as she matched Sharapova in the early stages.
The Russian sprayed 26 unforced errors around the court, but once she'd taken the first set, the result was never in doubt and a forehand over the baseline from the Bulgarian sealed Sharapova's victory.
US Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova also dropped just two games as she joined Williams and Sharapova in the second round, beating American Jessica Kirkland 6-1 6-1.
Former champion and 24th seed Mary Pierce crashed out however, the Frenchwoman beaten 6-2 6-2 by compatriot Stephanie Cohen-Aloro.
PA