AUSTRALIAN OPEN 2018: ANGELIQUE KERBER DISMANTLES MARIA SHARAPOVA

Maria Sharapova's hopes of a title-winning return to the Australian Open were unceremoniously crushed by Angelique Kerber as the battle of the former champions ended 6-1, 6-3 in the German's favour on Saturday.

The lustre that clings to Maria Sharapova like gold leaf on a Russian icon is fading. When Angelique Kerber took just over an hour to end her run at the Australian Open on day six then turned her attention towards trickier, younger challenges in the second week, it was easier than even a few months ago to imagine things may never be the same for Sharapova.

At 30 (only nine months older than Kerber) she can still beat the best players. The desire is there. But neither the lingering scream nor the death stare across the net could disguise the incremental dissipation of her aura. The locker room was never a warm place for her; since her return last summer, after serving 15 months for testing positive for a banned substance, it has grown more indifferent by the day.

Many of the names left in the charge towards the first slam title of the season lurk well outside the top 10: Madison Keys (20), Naomi Osaka (72), Barbora Strycova (24) and 32-year-old Hsieh Su-wei (88). The only slam champion left standing after three rounds is Kerber, who won here two years ago.

The smiling German needs no reminding of the days Sharapova toyed with her, allowing her only 18 games in four matches in 2012. But she happily recalls their more recent encounters: tough three-set wins at Wimbledon in 2014 and in Stuttgart the following year. It has been a slow train coming.

Kerber on Saturday parked as “job done” what would once have been a milestone victory. On Monday she plays Taiwan’s charming stylist Hsieh, whose 6-2, 7-5 win over Agnieszka Radwanska in the last match of the evening was surely one of the most artful of the tournament, rich with drop shots, lobs, slices and stunning placement from both players. “I’ve been coming here since I was 14,” she said. “It’s amazing to be back in the fourth round for the first time in 10 years.”

Sharapova in action during the match. Photo credit:  AFP

Kerber has lost only 13 games in three matches in the first week, seeing off Anna-Lena Friedsam in 66 minutes and taking four minutes longer to get past the rising Croat Donna Vekic. Sharapova lasted 64 minutes, Kerber making only seven unforced errors to win 6-1, 6-3.

The world No 16 said: “After the first set I was trying to not think about the score, just going for it.” The numbers told the story: Sharapova won only 11 of 29 first serves, Kerber 25 from 29.

“There are a lot of things that I need to get better at and improve on,” Sharapova said. “But, looking at the overall picture, the beginning of this year, finishing the tournament… first thing is that I’m healthy. I’ll be back on the practice court. I’m not starting from zero. There’s a lot to build from. I know maybe that isn’t what you want to hear. But, personally, that’s important for me.”

The tournament director, Craig Tiley, feted Sharapova like a returning duchess from the moment she arrived, giving her the podium vacated by the absent champion, Serena Williams, to share with Roger Federer at the draw. Her exile since her last appearance – losing in the quarters to Williams in 2016 – was forgiven and forgotten. Perhaps that is no bad thing.

Her concern now will not be her reputation, which seems bullet-proof, but her integrity on the Tour. She needs a significant win to kick-start the autumn of her career.

This was her second appearance of the week on Rod Laver, the showpiece court of Melbourne Park, having begun her journey on Margaret Court Arena. On her slam comeback in New York last September she played all her four matches on that tournament’s main stage, Arthur Ashe. There can be few doubts Sharapova remains one of the biggest draws in tennis. But, in the locker room, the player they still respect has lost the fear factor, perhaps forever.

Threats now come from altogether different directions. Although she lost, Lauren Davis, the 24-year-old American ranked 76 in the world, gave the world No 1 Simona Halep such a fight and a fright over three hours and 44 minutes (the 142-minute third set was a minute longer than it took Novak Djokovic to beat Albert Ramos-Vinolas later that evening) that the Romanian declared courtside, “I’m dead.”

In the absence of teeth marks in her neck she was, of course, talking metaphorically. But she plainly suffered intensely for her win.

And there might be another dividend to shell out when she plays Osaka on Monday. It would be remarkable if Halep were able to lift herself to beat the surging, Florida-based, Japanese star, who burst the home bubble of Ashleigh Barty in two quick sets and looks the best of the unseeded candidates left in the field.

“I’m grateful,” Osaka said. “But I don’t want to stop here.”