Maria Sharapova of Russia hits a return to Bethanie Mattek-Sands of the United States during their women's singles match at the Australian Open 2014 tennis tournament in Melbourne January 14, 2014. REUTERS/Petar Kujundzic
MELBOURNE (Reuters) - Maria Sharapova celebrated her return to the grand slam spotlight with an emphatic 6-3 6-4 win over Bethanie Mattek-Sands in what was a clash of styles in more way than one at the Australian Open on Tuesday.
The third seed, wearing a sleek pale blue dress, was made to work hard for her passage into the second round and lost her service twice as her American opponent mixed things up with her all-court game.
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