Russia's Maria Sharapova on Thursday defeated Donna Vekic of Croatia 7-5, 6-4, to book a place in the third round of the French Open, the second Grand Slam event of the year, held on clay court.
In their first career match, Sharapova, a former World No. 1, needed nearly two hours to reach the third round, where she takes on the Czech Republic's Karolina Pliskova, the sixth seed, who ousted her countrywoman Lucie Safarova 3-6, 6-4, 6-1, reports Efe.
The second-round match saw a total of ten service breaks out of eyebrow-raising 25 opportunities.
Sharapova, currently World No. 30, conceded her serve twice in each set, but was able to break her rival's serve three times to seal the win.
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