UPDATE 1-Tennis-Sharapova joins easy centre court winners

* Does not face single break point in easy victory

* Advances to another Open clash with U.S. teenager (Adds detail, quote)

By Larry Fine

NEW YORK, Sept 2 (Reuters) - Maria Sharapova joined the stampede of easy centre court winners at the U.S. Open on Thursday when she trampled Iveta Benesova of the Czech Republic 6-1 6-2 to reach the third round.

The 2006 Open winner did not face a single break point in her demolition of the 68th-ranked Benesova who contributed 26 unforced errors to her own demise.

Wearing a black and blue ensemble, Sharapova bruised the Czech's defense with 16 winners, including three aces.

The 23-year-old Russian said she felt a little awkward at first against Benesova and dealing with some tricky winds in Arthur Ashe Stadium.

"I knew during warm-up it was a little gusty and I was playing a lefty and hadn't played one in a while so I knew it was going to be a little bit tricky," the 14th-seed said during an on-court interview.

Sharapova did not take long to adjust, breaking Benesova, 27, in the second game of the first set to quickly establish her superiority.

The 6-foot, 2 inch (1.88 metre) Sharapova often looked like she was hitting with a younger cousin, standing seven inches (18 cms) taller and hitting much harder.

The Russian followed women's top seed Caroline Wozniacki and five-time men's winner Roger Federer in scoring an easy straight-sets win at Arthur Ashe Stadium.

She next faces 18-year-old American wildcard Beatrice Capra, who upset 18th seed Aravane Rezai of France.

Sharapova has seen her ranking dip the last few seasons as she has dealt with shoulder and elbow problems.

Last year, Sharapova was eliminated in the third round by 17-year-old upstart Melanie Oudin, who rode the thunderous support of the home crowd to reach the quarter-finals.

"The great thing about the U.S. Open is to see young Americans doing well," Sharapova said in an on-court interview. "Not that I consider myself old as a 23 year old (but) it's so great to see young players coming up and playing good tennis." (Reporting by Larry Fine, Editing by Frank Pingue; To query or comment on this story email sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)