Maria Sharapova advanced to the third round of the Madrid Open by beating Mariana Duque-Marino of Colombia 6-1, 6-2 on Tuesday.
The third-seeded Russian and defending champion broke Duque-Marino’s serve four times while saving three break points on her own serve.
“She is someone who, if you give her time, creates angles, slices and usually drop-shots a lot more than she did in this match because she has the hands and the ability to do so,” Sharapova said.
Sharapova’s next opponent will be Caroline García of France, who beat the 14th-seeded Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic 6-2, 4-6, 6-1.