Maria Sharapova cruised into round three of the US Open with a 6-1 6-1 victory over Anastasiya Yakimova.
Third seed drops just two games en route to victory
Third seed Maria Sharapova cruised into round three of the US Open with a 6-1 6-1 victory over Anastasiya Yakimova on Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Sharapova had needed more than two and a half hours to see off Heather Watson in her opening match at Flushing Meadows, but she suffered no such scares against the Belarusian.
Yakimova had three break points in the first game, but Sharapova dug in and never looked back.
Yakimova simply did not have the weapons to hurt her opponent, managing only two winners to the 24-year-old's 28.
And Sharapova was happy with the way she has progressed from the Watson match.
Tricky
She said: "I played a pretty tricky opponent tonight who didn't play the typical kind of tennis. She sliced a lot, a lot of high balls. Maybe the first couple of games I was a little bit impatient.
"Then I got really steady. I was aggressive. I still felt like I could have moved in a little bit more, but overall I played solid and much better than the first one."
Sharapova, the 2006 champion, is likely to face a tougher time in the third round against 26th seed Flavia Pennetta, a two-time quarter-finalist in New York.
However it wasn't a great day for the seeds, with Dominika Cibulkova, Yanina Wickmayer and Agnieszka Radwanska suffering second-round defeats.
Cibulkova, the 14th seed, had won the first set and then been 3-0 up in the decider against Irina Falconi before succumbing 2-6 6-3 7-5.
Belgium's Wickmayer failed to finish her match, with the 20th seed pulling out when trailing Alla Kudryavtseva 6-1 3-0.
And 12th seed Radwanska crashed out 6-3 4-6 6-3 at the hands of Angelique Kerber.
