Maria Sharapova wasted little time in polishing off a win over Eugenie Bouchard to reach the third round of the French Open at Roland Garros.
The defending champion drew the short straw weather-wise on Thursday, not starting her match until late because of the poor weather and then being unable to finish.
Bouchard and a reluctant Sharapova left Court Philippe Chatrier at 9pm on Thursday with the rain falling steadily and the Russian only two games away from victory.
Canadian Bouchard is one of the game’s up-and-coming talents and won the Wimbledon girls’ title last year, and she began Friday by winning the point she needed to hold serve to be 4-3 behind in the second set.
The 19-year-old was certainly not afraid to take on her illustrious opponent and should have levelled at 5-5 but missed a golden opportunity for a forehand winner and that was that as Sharapova wrapped up a 6-2 6-4 victory.
The Russian will play her third-round match on Saturday against China’s Zheng Jie, who beat American Melanie Oudin on Thursday.
