Paris, May 29
Maria Sharapova took just 48 minutes to race into the French Open second round on Tuesday with a 6-0, 6-0 humiliation of hapless Romanian Alexandra Cadantu.
Russian second seed Sharapova, who needs a Roland Garros title to complete a career Grand Slam, hardly broke sweat against her 22-year-old opponent who was so penniless in 2008 that she had to stop playing.
On Tuesday’s evidence, it was easy to see why.
Sharapova, twice a semi-finalist in Paris, allowed the 78th-ranked Romanian just nine points in the opening set which was wrapped up in 23 minutes on Suzanne Lenglen court.
It was a similar tale in the second, with Sharapova again surrendering just nine points before wrapping up victory when Cadantu hit long with a forehand.
Sharapova unleashed 19 winners in her victory while the Romanian hit none at all.
The second seed will face Japan’s Ayumi Morita for a place in the last 32.
Sixth seed David Ferrer reached the second round at Roland Garros on Tuesday, beating Slovakia’s Lukas Lacko 6-3, 6-4, 6-1. Ferrer, a potential quarter-final rival for British fourth seed Andy Murray, will next meet either Albert Ramos of Spain or France’s Benoit Paire.
Two former women’s grand slam champions and a young British hope reached the French Open second round Tuesday as Rafael Nadal, seeking a record seventh men’s crown, prepared to make his entrance.
The 2010 champion Francesca Schiavone of Italy, seeded 14, defeated Japanese veteran Kimiko Date-Krumm 6-3, 6-1 while reigning Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova, the fourth-seeded Czech, made even shorter work of Australia 16-year-old Ashleigh Barty, winning 6-1, 6-2 in just 54 minutes.
Kvitova now meets either Urszula Radwanska of Poland or Pauline Parmentier of France while Schiavone, 31 and last year’s beaten finalist, advanced to a meeting with either Yanina Wickmayer of Belgium or Tsvetana Pironkova of Bulgaria after ousting Date-Krumm - a decade her elder.
Date-Krumm broke serve in the opening game but thereafter the Japanese was unable to last the pace on a sparsely-populated but sunny Philippe Chatrier show court.
Guernsey-born Briton Heather Watson, who managed to reach the second round on her debut last year, thereby entering the top 100, got off to a flier against Russian Elena Vesnina.
She romped through her opening set and stayed her ground to win 6-2, 6-4 for a likely match-up against Germany’s 25th seed Julia Goerges.
