Sharapova, Stosur progress to 2nd round at US Open

New York: Third seeded Russian, Maria Sharapova moved into the second round of the US Open defeated Melinda Czink of Hungary 6-2, 6-2 on Monday.

Sharapova, who completed a career Grand Slam this year by winning French Open lost to American Serena Williams in straight sets at the 2012 London Olympics. She had to skip took a break after the loss due to the stomach pain she had to endure forcing her to skip tournaments at Montreal and Cincinnati. "It was a nice break in a way, but after so many weeks of practicing, you`re just eager to get back on the court," she said. Defending champion Sam Stosur also began her campaign in style registering 6-1, 6-1 victory over Croatia`s Petra Martic. No. 23 Kim Clijsters extended her Flushing Meadows winning streak to 22 straight matches, defeating the youngest player in the field, 16-year-old American Victoria Duval, 6-3, 6-1. Top-seeded Victoria Azarenka, the Australian Open champion, began the quest for her second Grand Slam title of the year with a 6-0, 6-1 win over Alexandra Panova. Stosur won the day`s first match in Ashe, and any thought that the early round jitters might get to her — the way they did in first-round exits at the Australian Open and the Olympics or a second-round loss at Wimbledon — were over before the crowd even got settled. The seventh-seeded Aussie won the first 19 points — she was five away from a perfect set before she double-faulted — and needed only 51 minutes to finish the match. "It did pop into my head for a split second," Stosur said of the prospect of a golden set. "Then I hit the double fault and it was erased and I was quickly on with the next point." Other winners included 24th-seeded Marcel Granollers on the men`s side and 11th-seeded Marion Bartoli, No. 9 Li Na and No. 5 Petra Kvitova in the women`s draw. Andy Roddick, Serena Williams and Djokovic, the defending champion, were scheduled to play Tuesday. Agencies