Maria Sharapova denied revenge was a motivating factor behind her shock win over defending Australian Open champion Caroline Wozniacki yesterday. The five-time Grand Slam winner dumped the Dane from the tournament in a three-set thriller 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 to claim her biggest scalp since completing a drugs ban in 2017.

At the time, World No. 3 Wozniacki was an outspoken critic of the way the WTA eased Sharapova's return from the positive test by handing the Russian wildcards to top tournaments. But Sharapova, who is seeded 30 at Melbourne Park this year as she tries to rejoin the game's elite, insisted the spat was not on her mind as she bundled out the Dane on Rod Laver Area.