Sharapova showed few signs of the injury in the first set, destroying her opponent 6-1 with her trademark penetrating ground-strokes providing the foundation for her performance, as Garbin failed to offer any resistance.

The Russian then surged to a 4-0 second set lead, but seemed to falter in concentration as she allowed her opponent back into the match. She spurned four match points in the second set, and Garbin took full advantage of her hesitancy winning it on a tie-breaker, 8-6.

Garbin then gained the advantage breaking Sharapova right in the beginning of the decider. But trailing 3-1 in the final set and in real danger of losing, Sharapova battled her way back into the match. She took five games in a row to win it 6-3.

Though she is far from being in her best condition, after the match Sharapova seemed simply pleased to be back playing tennis.

"It's so great to be back after nine months of a lot of work and therapy. To have the opportunity to be back out on centre court, and play in front of a new crowd and new fans is really great," she said.

"You have to expect not to even be in the rankings after not playing for nine months, and I'm actually surprised that I'm still ranked 65. But it's all a process and coming back from an injury is never easy, and I know that this is just going to be hurdle after hurdle, but I'm looking forward to the challenges that it brings," she added.