Sharapova tops Peterson, sets up 3rd-round showdown with Wozniacki

Maria Sharapova set up a third-round showdown with defending champion Caroline Wozniacki at the Australian Open after a 6-2, 6-1 win over Rebecca Peterson of Sweden.

Sharapova won the Australian title in 2008 and has reached the final at Melbourne Park three other times, and can raise her game well above the status of a No. 30 seed.

The Russian has dropped only three games in her first two matches and is hitting form quickly despite sitting out the end of the 2018 season after a fourth-round exit at the U.S. Open to give her right shoulder a rest.

The third-seeded Wozniacki also beat a Swedish opponent in the second round, advancing 6-1, 6-3 over Johanna Larsson.

Wozniacki's match was considerably earlier in the day, while Sharapova's win wrapped up Day 3 after midnight.

''I don't know about you guys, but this is way past my bed time,'' she told the crowd at Margaret Court Arena. ''I'm just thinking what time I'm going to get to sleep.''