Defending champion Caroline Wozniacki eased past her second round opponent Johanna Larsson 6-1 6-3 in a one-sided clash at the Australian Open on Wednesday.

The victory sets up the potential for an enthralling third round encounter between the Dane and Maria Sharapova, who meets Rebecca Peterson in the second round.

Wozniacki, seeded third, took just over an hour to secure her second consecutive straight-sets win.

(Reporting by Jonathan Barrett in Melbourne; editing by Amlan Chakraborty) ((Jonathan.Barrett@thomsonreuters.com;))