Maria Sharapova took just over an hour to defeat American qualifier Lilia Osterloh in the second round of the DFS Classic in Birmingham, the grasscourt tournament she is using to hone her bid for a second Wimbledon title.

The world No 2 won 6-4 6-0 to set up a third-round meeting with 16-year-old Tamira Paszek, from Austria.

Earlier, world No 3 Jelena Jankovic, fresh from her semi-final appearance in the French Open, also made a confident start to her preparations for Wimbledon with a 6-4 6-1 defeat of Bulgarian teenager Tsvetana Pironkova.

As if by command, the rain clouds above Edgbaston parted in time for the grand entrance of the tournament's big two, who had sat out the first two days.

Sharapova experienced hiccups at the start and finish of the first set but was in full flow by the time she disposed of an opponent 118 places below her in the world rankings.

Osterloh held her first service game to love and then squandered three break points after Sharapova twice double-faulted. The American's next break points did not come until the 10th game when her more illustrious opponent did just enough to serve out for the first set.

The psychological damage was done and there was no way back for Osterloh once she was broken to love in the opening game of the second set. That gave Sharapova the confidence she needed to produce her full array of immaculate groundstrokes, without ever needing to test the decibel counter.