Maria Sharapova made a dramatic return to Grand Slam action by knocking out world number two Simona Halep at the US Open.

The Russian won 6-4 4-6 6-3 in front of a sell-out night session crowd of almost 24,000 people in New York.

Sharapova, 30, was playing her first Grand Slam match since serving a 15-month doping suspension.

The 2006 champion and former world number one needed a wildcard to enter the main draw as she is ranked 146th.

When her name was drawn alongside Halep's in the first round it set up a contest that felt more like a Grand Slam decider than opener.

Over the course of two hours and 44 minutes, Sharapova's greater pace off the racquet outstripped Halep's speed of foot, with 60 winners proving decisive despite 64 errors.

"You never know what you're going to feel until you win that match point, but everything you go through is worth it for this moment," said Sharapova, who now has a 7-0 record against Romania's Halep.

"You sometimes wonder why you put in all the work, and this is exactly why."

Sharapova goes on to face Hungary's Timea Babos, the world number 59, in round two on Wednesday.