Sharapova of Russia reacts to lost point during women's singles semi-final loss to Williams of U.S. at Brisbane International tennis tournament in Brisbane. (Reuters)
Sharapova of Russia reacts to lost point during women's singles semi-final loss to Williams of U.S. at Brisbane International tennis tournament in Brisbane. (Reuters) Reuters

Day 2 of the 2014 Australian Open continues on Tuesday. By the evening session, all players, men and women, would have made their debut already—either advancing to the next round or getting eliminated—including Russia’s Maria Sharapova who will be taking on Bethanie Mattek-Sands from the United States of America.

Does the American stand a chance against the third seed?

M. Sharapova (RUS) vs. B. Mattek-Sands (USA)
 Jan 14, 2014 (Tuesday) at 9:00 pm AEDT

Match Odds: Sharapova (1.06) vs. Mattek-Sands (9.5)
Game Handicap: Sharapova (-6.5) vs. B. Mattek-Sands (+6.5)

Sports books have installed Sharapova as 1.06 favourites—short of a miracle or a major Maria injury this looks like a first round walk in the park for the Russian. Then again, a couple of top seeds fell in the opening round already!

Sixth seed Petra Kvitova fell to Luksika Kumkhum and seventh seed Sara Errani lost to Julia Georges in the first two days, a telling sign that the underdogs are loudly barking this early into the tourney.

Still, it’s a tough task for Mattek-Sands, who has lost her five matches against Sharapova. Ranked 41st in the world, Mattek-Sands enjoyed her second Top 50 season in her career in 2013. He reached the fourth round of the 2013 French Open and the second round of the 2013 US Open. This is the fourth time she has qualified at the Australian Open.

The last meeting between the two is in the Round of 32 of the 2010 Aegon Classic where Sharapova won in straight sets, 6-0, 6-3. Sharapova won the 2008 Australian Open but has came up short in recent years. She lost in the semifinals in 2013.