Sharapova opens with victorie

Maria Sharapova opened the defense of her US Open crown in commanding style on Tuesday by overpowering Italy's Roberta Vinci 6-0, 6-1 in under an hour.

The Russian second seed showed no signs of the shoulder and shin injuries that have dogged her this year as she outgunned her opponent from the first exchanges and pocketed the first set in just 23 minutes.

It was more of the same in the second set as the 20-year-old Russian glamour girl, dressed in a seamless bright red dress with glittering sequins on the front, unleashed all her firepower on her shell-shocked opponent.

It was all over in 50 minutes sending Sharapova into a second round tie against unheralded Australian Casey Dellacqua.

"It's great to be back, to step on to this court at night - just feel the vibes and be on the centre court again," she said.

"Every corner I turn here I get goosebumps. When you come back to the place you won your second major, its incredible.

"And to come in to defend my title when I am healthy, that's the best part."

In the next round to be played on Thursday, Maria faces off against #90 Casey Dellacqua of Australia.  Maria has never played the Aussie before.