Sharp Sharapova shines

Maria Sharapova on Wednesday said she expects to be playing several more years in her quest for Grand Slam glory after sweeping past Aliaksandra Sasnovich and into the third round of the Australian Open.

The 28-year-old Russian shook off any early-season rust in the opening round and continued her impressive form at the Open, crushing the 105th-ranked Belarusian 6-2, 6-1 at Rod Laver Arena.

A winner here in 2008 and a three-time runner-up, she was always heavily favored, although the departure of second seed Simona Halep on Tuesday showed there are no guarantees.