Damian Torrie held up a sign and yelled out "Marry me Maria Sharapova?" during her first match, which encouraged a chorus of laughs around Pat Rafter Arena, News.com.au reported.
Maria Sharapova withdrew from the Rogers Cup with a sore left arm on Thursday, putting the five-time grand slam champion's US Open participation in doubt.
There was only a scattering of fans inside the stadium as Sharapova took to the court on Wednesday, but after getting into her stride she overpowered the 91st-ranked Diatchenko.
Five-time Grand Slam champion Sharapova, who won at Flushing Meadows in 2006, struggled with her serve at times in the opening set but Schnyder failed to take full advantage.
Maria Sharapova will not care less what reception she receives when she plays her first Australian Open match since completing a doping ban on Tuesday, according to three-times Melbourne winner Mats Wilander.
Former world number one Maria Sharapova lost her second consecutive first round match with a 6-4, 6-4 defeat to Japan's Naomi Osaka at the BNP Paribas Open in California on Wednesday.
Maria Sharapova's claycourt season got off to a poor start on Tuesday as she lost in three sets to Caroline Garcia in the first round of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart.
The president of the French tennis federation (FFT) said he had a moral responsibility to deny Maria Sharapova a wildcard invitation to this month's French Open as the sport continues its fight against doping.
Maria Sharapova can rise above the furore surrounding her return from a 15-month doping ban if she accepts the decision to deny her a wild card entry to the French Open without rancour, former world number three Pam Shriver has said.
"What I experienced, what I felt from her moving around in between my serving motion was not, I don't think, sportsmanlike, in my opinion," American Coco Vandeweghe claimed after her quarter-final loss
World No 2 Andy Murray says Maria Sharapova should be banned after her positive test for meldonium and questioned the Russian's use of the drug for medical purposes.
Sharapova was granted a wildcard entry to the last Grand Slam of the season but received a tough first-round draw in the shape of Romanian Halep.
'Maria will look at it and see no one dominant. Serena Williams is the only player in the past who has been like a thorn in her side, but she feels mentally superior to most of the other and she feels she can win against them all'
Tennis star Maria Sharapova said on Tuesday she is excited about her return to competition next month, feeling vindicated by the reduction of her doping suspension and empowered by her time away.
'We really hope that Sharapova will still be allowed to take part in the Olympic Games.'
Maria Sharapova's hopes of a title-winning return to the Australian Open were unceremoniously crushed by Angelique Kerber as the battle of the former champions ended 6-1, 6-3 in the German's favour.
'She has been my crush since I started playing tennis. I was thrilled to see her in person. She was very charming.'
The glittering career of Russian former World No 1 Maria Sharapova was in tatters after she was given a two-year ban by the International Tennis Federation. Check out the high points in her career...
Eugenie Bouchard pulled off her first win over Maria Sharapova with a 7-5, 2-6, 6-4 triumph in the Madrid Open on Monday in a thrilling contest full of tension after the Canadian had called the Russian a cheater following her doping ban.
The situation of Russian tennis star Maria Sharapova is "bad" after she tested positive for the banned substance meldonium and she may never play again, R-Sport news agency quoted Shamil Tarpishchev, the president of the Russian Tennis Federation, as saying.
Sachin Tendulkar says he did not find it disrespectful that Russian tennis star Maria Sharapova did not know who he was, as she does not follow cricket.
Maria Sharapova and Elena Dementieva breezed into the quarter finals of the Stanford Classic on Wednesday, crushing their second-round opponents with equal efficiency.
Aryna Sabalenka beat China's Zheng Qinwen 6-3 6-2 to retain the Australian Open women's singles title on Saturday.
Maria Sharapova's love for tennis has only grown stronger during her 15-month doping ban, the five-times Grand Slam winner has said as she continues her comeback from the suspension.
The 30-year-old Russian, who returned last month from a 15-month doping ban, said on her website she would play in the qualifying event staged the week before.
Women's Tennis Association Chief Executive Steve Simon has defended the wildcard entry awarded to former world number one Maria Sharapova.
Maria Sharapova had not completed a match since losing at Wimbledon in July, so the Russian was naturally thrilled to emerge with a victory at the WTA finals on Sunday after taking time to heal from a number of ailments.
Maria Sharapova hit the red carpet at the Vanity Fair Oscar Party.
While some say the five-times Grand Slam champion, initially banned for two years after testing positive for Meldonium, has done her time some fellow players are angry the red carpet is being rolled out.
Maria Sharapova's lawyer blasted WADA chief Craig Reedie for making remarks about the five-times grand slam champion at a conference in London on Monday and said the Russian tennis player was owed an apology.
Maria Sharapova beat Ana Ivanovic in the final of the Brisbane International on Saturday in a display that bodes well for her chances at the Australian Open.
Maria Sharapova's comeback from a doping ban will include an appearance at the Rogers Cup in August after the former world number one was granted a wild card by the organisers of the Toronto tournament on Tuesday.
Former world number one Maria Sharapova was beaten 6-2, 6-2 by Ukraine's Alona Bondarenko in the quarter-finals of the Warsaw Open on Thursday. Russian Sharapova was making her comeback at the tournament after a shoulder injury had prevented her playing singles since last August.
Top seed Maria Sharapova overcame a second-set wobble to beat Tsvetana Pironkova 7-6, 6-7, 6-0 and reach the Wimbledon third round.
Five-times grand slam champion Maria Sharapova is seeking to have her two-year doping ban wiped out or reduced as she lodged an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) on Tuesday.
Maria Sharapova has been suspended as a goodwill ambassador by the United Nations after the former world number one admitted she had tested positive for the banned substance meldonium at this year's Australian Open.
Sharapova, the 2006 champion, had never lost a night session match in New York prior to her first Grand Slam meeting with Suarez Navarro.
Russian tennis star Maria Sharapova, the highest-paid woman in sports, said on Monday that she failed a drug test at the Australian Open due to a substance she has been taking for 10 years for health issues.
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