Maria Sharapova put Russia 1-0 up against Spain in the Fed Cup quarterfinal with a straight forward, if error-strewn win over Silvia Soler-Espinosa on Saturday.
The score line of 6-2, 6-1 flattered a scrappy performance from the Australian Open finalist.
"The score seems like an easy match but in fact it was quite difficult," Sharapova said.
Sharapova’s superior power and speed were enough to see her through against Soler-Espinosa, the world no. 77, who was a late replacement for the injured Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez.
The Russian started three of her four service games in the first set with a double fault, recording six in total in the first set, and her first serve remained a serious weakness throughout. Soler-Espinosa, 24, often played better technical tennis but 24-year-old Sharapova’s power proved insurmountable.
“Playing against Maria in Moscow isn't easy, especially since she's so confident after getting to the Australian Open final,” the Spaniard said.
"There were moments in the match where I could have taken the initiative but I couldn't take advantage of them"
Svetlana Kuznetsova plays Spain’s Carla Suarez Navarro later Saturday.
Sunday will start with a match between Sharapova and Suarez Navarro, before Kuznetsova takes on Soler-Espinosa. The final rubber will be a doubles match between Russia’s Ekaterina Makarova and Nadia Petrova and the Spanish pair of Arantxa Parra-Santonja and Nuria Llagostera Vives.
Russia has not lost a match against Spain in two Fed Cup ties, including the 2008 final, which Russia won 4-0 in Madrid.
Kuznetsova, Makarova, Llagostera Vives and Suarez Navarro all played in that match.
