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Paris : Russia's Maria Sharapova celebrates wining her their third round match of the French Open tennis tournament against Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic in two sets 6-2, 6-1, at the Roland Garros stadium in Paris, France, Saturday, June 2, 2018. AP/PTI(AP6_2_2018_000120B)[/caption]
Paris, June 2 (PTI/AFP): Maria Sharapova set up a potential last-16 clash with Serena Williams by crushing sixth seed Karolina Pliskova 6-2, 6-1 in the French Open third round on Saturday.
The five-time Grand Slam champion produced one of her best performances since returning from a doping ban, cruising to a totally one-sided win in her first match on Court Philippe Chatrier for three years.
"I knew I had to play well against a tough opponent. I managed to stay aggressive and I played smart as well," said Sharapova, who delighted a half-full Chatrier by thanking them for their support in French.
The Russian, winner in Paris in 2012 and 2014, is seeded at a major for the first time since testing positive for meldonium two years ago.
A fired-up Sharapova powered 18 winners past her fellow former world number one Pliskova, with the Czech never threatening any resistance in a match which lasted just 59 minutes.
She will next face either 23-time Grand Slam champion Williams or German 11th seed Julia Goerges, who play later on Saturday, in the fourth round.
Sharapova and Serena have met 21 times, with the American leading the head-to-head record 19-2 after 18 consecutive wins dating back to 2004.
Sharapova had struggled on serve in her opening wins over Richel Hogenkamp and Donna Vekic, and she was broken in the very first game of the match. But the Russian, now ranked 30 in the world, utterly dominated the rest of the match against her passive opponent.
She showed guile as well as power too, bringing up match point with a perfect backhand drop shot, perhaps sending a warning to Serena in the process.
Nadal storms past Gasquet
Spanish tennis great Rafael Nadal on Saturday extended his dominance over local favourite Richard Gasquet, earning a 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 win in the French Open third round.
The "King of Clay" needed nearly two hours to defeat the Frenchman for the 16th time in as many career matches, extending his set winning streak at Roland Garros to 34, reports Efe.Sweden's Bjoren Borg holds the record for most consecutive sets won at the French Open, with 41 sets between 1979 and 1981.
Nadal's current streak dates back to the start of the 2016 tournament, when he was forced to withdraw due to a wrist injury prior to his third-round match.
The ten-time French Open champion ruthlessly took a 4-0 lead in the first set without dropping a single point.
However, things got complicated at 5-0 as Gasquet won three games in a row, a service break included, but world No. 1 Nadal halted his opponent's revival in the next game.
Nadal was then untouchable on serve during the next two sets, with his serve never once in danger, while he broke his rival's serve two times in each set.
The decisive factors in the match were Gasquet's unforced backhand errors and the 37 winners Nadal hit, nearly double what the Frenchman fired, as well as Nadal's efficacy while approaching the net (85 percent).Nadal, whose birthday is on Sunday, is to play his 40th career round-of-16 match at a major against Germany's Maximilian Marterer, who defeated Estonia's Jurgen Zopp 6-2, 6-1, 6-4.
Bopanna, Roger-Vassel in quarters
The Indo-French pair of Rohan Bopanna and Edouard Roger-Vasselin entered the men's doubles quarter-finals of the French Open on Saturday.
The 13th seeded pair defeated top-seeded Brazilian-Polish combo of Marcelo Melo and Lukasz Kubot 6-4, 7-6 (1) in the one hour and 30 minute third round affair.
The Indo-French pair will now be up against Nikola Mektic and Alexander Peya for a place in the semi-finals. Earlier, Bopanna had reached the quarter-final stage at Roland Garros in 2011 and 2016.
