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Maria Sharapova's first match on grass since she lost to Venus Williams in last year's Wimbledon semi-finals ended in a comfortable 6-4, 6-2 victory over American qualifier Ahsha Rolle on Wednesday.
But the Russian glamour girl was, by her own admission, some way below her best as she moved into the third round of the DFS Classic, where she is bidding to become the first woman to land three consecutive titles.
Chilly, damp conditions and an 80-minute rain break made life difficult for everyone and the 2004 Wimbledon champion is confident she will soon click back into better form.
"It's just a matter of getting the matches under my belt," she said. "It was good to be back on grass again and as the match went on I started to feel better.
"There's far more to come. I'm looking forward to raising my game which is what you try to do at every tournament.
"It's not possible to play your best tennis in a first-round match, especially on a surface in which you only play a few tournaments a year."
Sharapova admitted the wet turf had made things difficult.
"It was a lot more slippery than other days, and that's in the back of your mind a bit, but you can't really afford to think about that.
"You realise you might have to go on and off a few times, but that's just the way it is - it's good preparation for Wimbledon."
On a day which produced no major upsets, Francesca Schiavone, seeded second behind Sharapova, was made to work hard by Venezuela's Maria Vento-Kabchi, before pulling through 6-0, 4-6, 6-1.
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AFP 141734 GMT 06 06
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