Fifth-Ranked Maria Sharapova put an end to new mom Lindsay Davenport’s strong comeback, taking a 6-1, 6-3 victory Wednesday to reach the Australian Open third round.

The eagerly awaited match pitted Davenport, who was 19-1 with three titles since returning to the tour, against a former Grand Slam winner for the first time since she took maternity leave.

In the following match on center court, sixth-ranked Andy Roddick was hot on a cool night to advance 6-2, 6-2, 6-4 over Germany’s Michael Berrer.

Not quite as hot as Sharapova, who yielded only six points in the first five games, keeping Davenport constantly on the run. Serena Williams and top-ranked Justine Henin earlier scored straight-set victories that weren’t as easy as the scores indicated to move a step closer to a possible semifinal showdown.

Williams was the aggressor in a 6-3, 6-1 win over Meng Yuan, hitting so hard on virtually every shot that she seemed to be trying to reduce the ball to bits of fluff.

Henin ran through the first set against Russia’s Olga Poutchkova in 22 minutes while committing just five unforced errors. She faced a fight in the second set but eventually won 6-1, 7-5.

Second-ranked Rafael Nadal breezed to a 6-0, 6-2, 6-2 win over Frenchman Florent Serra. Unseeded Mardy Fish ousted No. 11 Tommy Robredo, but two other Americans were eliminated: Jesse Levine lost to No. 24 Jarkko Nieminen and Sam Warburg fell to Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who followed his upset of No. 9 Andy Murray by hitting 54 winners and 14 aces in three sets.

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