Maria Sharapova battles through against Sam Stosur at French Open

Alex Fisher

Maria Sharapova battles through against Sam Stosur at French Open image

Maria Sharapova came through her latest French Open clash with Sam Stosur relatively unscathed, winning in straight sets Friday.

Other women's seeds advancing Friday included Ana Ivanovic (7) and Ekaterina Makarova (9) . Men's winners included Roger Federer (2), Tomas Berdych (4) and Stan Wawrinka (8), who KO'd American Steve Johnson in three sets.

In another thrilling encounter between the tournament's No. 2 seed and her Australian adversary, there was no upset. Stosur won their 2014 match at Roland Garros. However, defending champion Sharapova did not have it all her own way in the 6-3, 6-4 win.

As they traded forehands in a series of rallies, it was Stosur who broke first. But that set off a run of five breaks in six games, three coming on Stosur's serve.

Sharapova composed herself and served out for the set, albeit at the second attempt, as an errant Stosur groundstroke found the net. From there, Sharapova never looked back, producing an impressive second set that saw her face just one break point.

Sharapova set up a last-16 match with Lucie Safarova. The Czech booked her place in Sunday's match with a straight-sets win of her own earlier in the day, the 13th seed ending Sabine Lisicki's title hopes.

Friday's results

Men

Second round

Richard Gasquet (20), France, defeated Carlos Berlocq, Argentina, 3-6, 6-3, 6-1, 4-6, 6-1.

Third round

Roger Federer (2), Switzerland, defeated Damir Dzumhur, Bosnia-Herzegovina, 6-4, 6-3, 6-2.

Tomas Berdych (4), Czech Republic, defeated Benoit Paire, France, 6-1, 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-4.

Stan Wawrinka (8), Switzerland, defeated Steve Johnson, United States, 6-4, 6-3, 6-2.

Gilles Simon (12), France, defeated Nicolas Mahut, France, 6-2, 6-7 (6), 6-7 (6), 6-3, 6-1.

Gael Monfils (13), France, defeated Pablo Cuevas (21), Uruguay, 4-6, 7-6 (1), 3-6, 6-4, 6-3.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (14), France, defeated Pablo Andujar, Spain, 7-6 (3), 6-4, 6-3.

Women

Third round

Maria Sharapova (2), Russia, defeated Sam Stosur (26), Australia, 6-3, 6-4.

Ana Ivanovic (7), Serbia, defeated Donna Vekic, Croatia, 6-0, 6-3.

Carla Suarez Navarro (8), Spain, lost to Flavia Pennetta (28), Italy, 6-3, 6-4.

Ekaterina Makarova (9), Russia, defeated Elena Vesnina, Russia, 6-2, 6-4.

Angelique Kerber (11), Germany, lost to Garbine Muguruza (21), Spain, 4-6, 6-2, 6-2.

Lucie Safarova (13), Czech Republic, defeated Sabine Lisicki (20), Germany, 6-3, 7-6 (2).

Elina Svitolina (19), Ukraine, defeated Annika Beck, Germany, 6-3, 2-6, 6-4.

Garbine Muguruza (21), Spain, defeated Angelique Kerber (11), Germany, 4-6, 6-2, 6-2.

Alize Cornet (29), France, defeated Mirjana Lucic-Baroni, Croatia, 4-6, 6-3, 7-5.

Alex Fisher