PARIS: Two-time champion Maria Sharapova edged closer to a possible French Open last-16 duel with old rival Serena Williams on Thursday as top seed Simona Halep and 2016 winner Garbine Muguruza breezed into the third round.

Sharapova, the 2012 and 2014 champion in Paris, needed five match points to see off Croatia’s Donna Vekic 7-5, 6-4 in a tie which featured 10 breaks of serve.

Former world number one Sharapova, seeded 28 this year, will face Czech sixth seed Karolina Pliskova for a place in the fourth round.

“She’s playing great,” Sharapova told Eurosport Russia of Pliskova, a player she defeated in their only previous meeting in the 2015 Fed Cup final. “She won a big title in Stuttgart, so I have to be ready to this match and I’ll be ready.”

Serena is a possible opponent but the three-time champion still has her second round to play Thursday against Australia’s Ashleigh Barty.

Sharapova is playing Roland Garros for the first time since 2015.

The 31-year-old was serving a doping ban in 2015 and was refused a wildcard by Roland Garros organisers last year.

Williams is a three-time champion in Paris and playing her first Slam since winning the 2017 Australian Open.

All eyes will again be on her striking black catsuit which dominated headlines after her first round win over Kristyna Pliskova and has caused some to question whether or not it’s legal.

Williams, 36, who is ranked at 451 in the world after her lengthy absence, defeated Barty in their only previous meeting, needing less than an hour to secure a straight sets win at the 2014 Australian Open.

Halep reached the third round with a comfortable 6-3, 6-1 win over Taylor Townsend of the United States.

Halep, twice a runner-up in Paris, will face Germany’s Andrea Petkovic for a place in the last 16.

Petkovic was a semi-finalist in 2014 and was once ranked in the top 10 but has slipped to 107 after an injury-blighted few seasons.

Spanish third seed Garbine Muguruza, the 2016 champion, was too strong for France’s number 257 Fiona Ferro 6-4, 6-3.

“She was unknown to me. It’s always tricky when you face a French, a young, talented player,” said Wimbledon champion Muguruza.

Men’s world number one Rafael Nadal, the 10-time champion, stormed into the third round as he continued his bid for an 11th title by sweeping aside Argentinean Guido Pella 6-2, 6-1, 6-1.

The top seed had struggled past lucky loser Simone Bolelli in the first round, but was back to his best as he raced through the last two sets in just 65 minutes.

The 31-year-old will next face home favourite and his old junior rival Richard Gasquet, whom he has beaten 15 times from as many meetings in professional tennis.

“I’m very happy, I played more aggressive than in the first round, so I’m very happy with that,” said Nadal. “Richard (Gasquet) is a very good friend. We’ve known each other since we were 11 or 12 years old so it will be very special to play again against him on such an important court (Philippe Chatrier) for my career.”

Title challengers Marin Cilic and Dominic Thiem struggled into the last 32. Third seed Cilic reached the third round for the eighth time with a 6-2, 6-2, 6-7 3-7), 7-5 win over Polish qualifier and world number 188 Hubert Hurkacz.

Former US Open champion Cilic, who reached the quarter-finals in Paris last year, will face Steve Johnson of the United States.

However, it was a roller-coaster of a performance by newly-wed Cilic who cracked 48 winners but also 52 unforced errors. He also squandered a match point in the third set. “I was in control but played a poor third set so I had to start all over again,” said 29-year-year-old Cilic after his 20th match win of the season.

“I had to be positive, positive, positive. I screamed just to let it all out and I got the break in the 11th game.”

Seventh seeded Thiem, a semi-finalist in 2016 and 2017, racked up his 31st win of the year.

The Austrian, the only man to beat world number one Nadal on clay this year, saw off Greek teenager Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-2, 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 in a match which had been suspended overnight after the third set.

Next up for Thiem is Italy’s Matteo Berrettini.

Highly-rated Canadian teenager Denis Shapovalov was knocked out by Germany’s Maximilian Marterer 5-7, 7-6 (7-4), 7-5, 6-4.

World number 70 Marterer, 22, has now reached the third round at successive Grand Slam events and will face Estonian lucky loser Jurgen Zopp.

Thursday’s result (prefix number denotes seeding):

Men’s singles:

Second round: 1-Rafael Nadal (Spain) bt Guido Pella (Argentina) 6-2, 6-1, 6-1; 27-Richard Gasquet (France) bt Malek Jaziri (Tunisia) 6-2, 3-6, 6-3, 6-0; Maximilian Marterer (Germany) bt 24-Denis Shapovalov (Canada) 5-7, 7-6 (7-4), 7-5, 6-4; Jurgen Zopp (Estonia) bt Ruben Bemelmans (Belgium) 4-6, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4; Mischa Zverev (Germany) bt Sergiy Stakhovsky (Ukraine) 6-3, 6-7 (0-7), 7-6 (7-2), 6-1; 6-Kevin Anderson (South Africa) bt Pablo Cuevas (Uruguay) 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (7-5), 6-4; 3-Marin Cilic (Croatia) bt Hubert Hurkacz (Poland) 6-2, 6-2, 6-7 (2-7), 7-5; Steve Johnson (US) bt Jan-Lennard Struff (Germany) 4-6, 7-6 (7-5), 6-2, 6-2; 8-Fabio Fognini (Italy) bt Elias Ymer (Sweden) 6-4, 6-1, 6-2; 16-Kyle Edmund (Great Britain) bt Marton Fucsovics (Hungary) 6-0, 1-6, 6-2, 6-3; 7-Dominic Thiem (Austria) bt Stefanos Tsitsipas (Greece) 6-2, 2-6, 6-4, 6-4; 15-Lucas Pouille (France) bt Cameron Norrie (Great Britain) 6-2, 6-4, 5-7, 7-6 (7-3).

Women’s singles:

Second round: 1-Simona Halep (Romania) bt Taylor Townsend (US) 6-3, 6-1; Andrea Petkovic (Germany) bt Bethanie Mattek-Sands (US) 6-0, 7-6 (7-5); 24-Daria Gavrilova (Australia) bt Bernarda Pera (US) 5-7, 7-5, 6-3; 16-Elise Mertens (Belgium) bt Heather Watson (Great Britain) 6-3, 6-4; 3-Garbine Muguruza (Spain) bt Fiona Ferro (France) 6-4, 6-3; Samantha Stosur (Australia) bt 30-Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (Russia) 6-2, 7-6 (7-1); 19-Magdalena Rybarikova (Slovakia) bt Belinda Bencic (Switzerland) 6-2, 6-4; Lesia Tsurenko (Ukraine) bt 15-Coco Vandeweghe (US) 3-6, 6-4, 6-0; 28-Maria Sharapova (Russia) bt Donna Vekic (Croatia) 7-5, 6-4; 6-Karolina Pliskova (Czech Republic) bt Lucie Safarova (Czech Republic) 3-6, 6-4, 6-1.

Wednesday’s remaining results:

Men’s singles:

Second round: 32-Gael Monfils (France) bt Martin Klizan (Slovakia) 6-2, 6-4, 6-4; 4-Grigor Dimitrov (Bulgaria) bt Jared Donaldson (US) 6-7 (2-7), 6-4, 4-6, 6-4, 10-8; Matteo Berrettini (Italy) bt Ernests Gulbis (Latvia) 6-2, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3; 19-Kei Nishikori (Japan) bt Benoit Paire (France) 6-3, 2-6, 4-6, 6-2, 6-3; Gilles Simon (France) bt 12-Sam Querrey (US) 1-6, 7-6 (7-3), 6-4, 6-1; Karen Khachanov (Russia) bt Guillermo Garcia-Lopez (Spain) 6-2, 7-6 (9-7), 6-7 (0-7), 6-3.

Women’s singles:

Second round: Camila Giorgi (Italy) bt Mariana Duque Marino (Colombia) 6-0, 6-3; 10-Sloane Stephens (US) bt Magdalena Frech (Poland) 6-2, 6-2; 14-Daria Kasatkina (Russia) bt Kirsten Flipkens (Belgium) 6-3, 6-3; Maria Sakkari (Greece) bt 23-Carla Suarez Navarro (Spain) 7-5, 6-3; Pauline Parmentier (France) bt 32-Alize Cornet (France) 6-7 (2-7), 6-4, 6-2; 2-Caroline Wozniacki (Denmark) bt Georgina Garcia (Spain) 6-1, 6-0.

Published in Dawn, June 1st, 2018