Maria Sharapova in press conference. Australian open 2016

Maria Sharapova is wary of a “tricky” opening encounter of her Australian Open campaign.

Despite a lack of match practice, the fifth seed is assured she is fully prepared to face Japan’s world No.58 Nao Hibino.

Following a 2015 season blighted by injuries, Sharapova is focused on the bigger picture when launching another pursuit for the title in Melbourne.

“I feel really good. Got to Melbourne earlier than I wanted to (withdrawing injured from Brisbane), But it gave me the chance to practice here this week. Had great days on a lot of the courts.

“I’ve been fortunate in my career to have won Grand Slams and to have a bigger picture of my goals, sometimes not to focus on so many tournaments, not to focus on rankings, and focus on being healthy, which is really, really important at a high professional sport,” explained the 2008 champion.