Wimbledon 2014: Maria Sharapova v Timea Bacsinszky match preview

A look ahead to the second round match in the women's singles

Maria Sharapova in action against Brit wildcard Samantha Murray. The Russian won in straight sets (GETTY IMAGES)

Ten years after Maria Sharapova won Wimbledon for the first (and only) time, the Russian beauty returned to All England Club fight to for the title yet again. The reigning French Open champion eased into the second round by overcoming Samantha Murray 6-1 6-0 in under an hour.

Her next opponent, Timea Bacsinszky of Switzerland, returns to Wimbledon’s main draw after a three-year absence, hoping to advance to the third round for the first time in her career.

Bacsinszky, ranked 85th, defeated Sharon Fichman 6-1 6-3 in round one after breezing through the qualifiers without dropping a set.

Sharapova and her boyfriend Grigor Dimitrov are hoping they could be a winning Wimbledon couple. Dimitrov has already advanced to the third round. Now, it’s over to Maria.

START: Thursday – 3 match on Court no.1

PAST MEETINGS…

2006 – Zurich (Hard) Q, Sharapova won 6-4, 6-3

STATS…

Sharapova has 540 career wins, almost doubling her next opponent (281)

The Russian has won 32 titles so far including five Grand Slam titles while her opponent lifted a WTA Tour trophy only once in 2009 in Luxembourg.

Sharapova is a former world no. 1 while Bacsinszky’s highest ranking was 36.

Total prize money Sharapova won on court equals $30,386,951, making it almost 30 times more than the total earnings of her next opponent.

ODDS…

Sharapova to win 1.06

Bacsinszky to win 7.5

TV: BBC ONE