Sharapova cruises in debut

Top-seeded Maria Sharapova made a successful debut at the Bausch & Lomb Championships with a 6-1, 6-3 victory against Barbora Zahlavova Strycova on Tuesday night.

"Coming into the match, you really don't know what to expect because your opponent has already had a few matches on clay, and this is your first match," Sharapova said. "So the most important thing today was just to try to get used to the atmosphere and the court and the opponent."

Lindsay Davenport began her quest for a fourth Bausch & Lomb title with a 6-2, 6-3 win over Vania King, overcoming a lack of sleep caused by her nine-month-old son's nagging cold.

Olga Govortsova pulled off a 4-6, 6-2, 6-4 upset of No. 4 Marion Bartoli, who continued her struggles at Amelia Island Plantation. She is 0-4 on the green clay and the only seeded player to lose in the first two days of the tournament.

No. 8 Agnes Szavay, No. 13 Virginie Razzano and No. 15 Anabel Medina Garrigues won second-round matches. No. 10 Alona Bondarenko, No. 12 Katarina Srebotnik and No. 14 Victoria Azarenka were first-round winners.

Sharapova, who ran her 2008 record to 19-1, is playing this week to get an early start on her preparation for the French Open.

She forced Zahlavova Strycova into fits during the 70-minute match. The Czech qualifier threw her racket and slammed it against her shoe and the ground, yelled at herself and even yapped to the chair umpire.

Sharapova stayed cool on the other end and was only broken once on her serve.

"I started well and got a good advantage in the first set," Sharapova said. "There were obviously a lot of things that hopefully I will be improving from this match, but it was a good start."

Davenport played on clay for the first time since the 2005 French Open, but showed little rust.

"To be honest, it felt a little awkward," said Davenport, who had seven aces and only faced two break points. "Every day and every match that I can play on clay, I know I will keep getting better and better. So (I am) happy to start off on the right foot, but eager to try to improve."

Davenport next plays Jill Craybas in the second round Wednesday night, while Sharapova gets Medina Garrigues in the third round Thursday.