A rampaging Maria Sharapova became the first player in 28 years to dole out consecutive double-bagels at a grand slam on Wednesday, but said her tally of major titles was the only statistic worth worrying about. The second seed left opponent Misaki Doi of Japan struggling to hold back tears after a 6-0 6-0 humiliation completed in 47 minutes at Hisense Arena, two days after inflicting the same scoreline on fellow Russian Olga Puchkova in the first round. “I didn’t offer candy today,” Sharapova, who launched a sweet making business last year, told reporters. “It’s not really the statistic I want to be known for. I want to be known for winning grand slam titles, not that I won two matches 6-0 6-0.” Sharapova, bidding for a fifth major trophy and a second Down Under, has spent only 102 minutes on court at Melbourne Park so far but will face a much stiffer test against seven-times grand slam champion Venus Williams in the next round. The ruthless Russian played down her lack of competition to sharpen her game and said she had never been tempted to take her foot off the gas against the 92nd-ranked Doi, who managed to cobble only 15 points from the match. “My focus is always on the next point and to try to win as many of them as possible,” said Sharapova, who suffered neck and collarbone pain in the leadup but was in full flight as she unleashed 16 raking winners.
Ruthless Sharapova serves another double-bagel
