Maria Sharapova has secured a comfortable 6-0 6-3 victory over Samantha Stosur at the WTA Championships in Istanbul.

The former world number one displayed dominance in the early stages of the contest by breaking her Australian opponent at the first time of asking.

The Russian pro, who had already secured her place in the semi-finals of the tournament, managed to hold her serve and claim another break point as Stosur was unable to impose her game throughout the first set.

Sharapova took the lead with Stosur failing to get a single game on the board but it was more evenly matched in the second set, with games going by the way of serve.

While Stosur tried to launch a comeback, Sharapova grabbed the vital break to push on and finish off the match with ease.