Merciless Maria overcomes hiccup for big win

Maria Sharapova has cemented her status as a dark horse for the Australian Open title after a dominant second round win against Anastasija Sevastova.

The Russian showed signs of a return to her brutal best after a 15th month drugs ban as she survived a second set hiccup to beat the Latvian 14th seed 6-1 7-6 (7-4) in one hour and 21 minutes.

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Playing in temperatures approaching 35 degrees in Melbourne, the Russian was on fire early on against her outclassed opponent on Rod Laver Arena.

Sharapova mixed brute force with superb touch to power her way into the third round where she'll face the winner of the match between German 21st seed Angelique Kerber and Croatia's Donna Vekic.

The five-time grand slam winner coasted through the first set but had to withstand a fightback from Sevastova in the second.

The searing heat seemed to get to the unseeded Russian as the winners dried up and the unforced errors mounted.

However, the 2008 champion dug deep when it mattered to eventually prevail 7-4 in the tie-breaker to wrap up the win.

"When she broke me back in the second set it was like 'oh, it's going to be three sets again'," said Sharapova, who dominated the winners' count 30-6.

"She's a tough opponent.

"I knew I had to get off to a good start because I didn't do that on the previous two occasions.

"I just wanted to get through today and I'm glad that I did."

For Sharapova it was sweet revenge for her fourth round defeat to Sevastova in last year's US Open.

Britain's big hope Johanna Konta also joined the exodus of women's seeds to fall in the first week of the Open.

The ninth seed was bundled out in the second round by American "lucky loser" Bernarda Pera.

A quarter-finalist at the 2017 Open before reaching the last four at Wimbledon, Konta joined a raft of seeds to make an early Melbourne Park exit this week when she lost 6-4 7-5 on Thursday.

Pera, who lost her final-round qualifying match before gaining a late entry to the main draw following a withdrawal, will play either Czech 20th seed Barbora Strycova or Spaniard Lara Arruabarrena on Saturday for a place in the last 16.

With AAP