PARIS — Defending French Open champion Maria Sharapova passed her first serious test with flying colors, dismissing Australian 26th seed Samantha Stosur 6-3 6-4 to reach the last 16 on Friday.
The second seed from Russia had too much poise and pace for Stosur, runner-up in 2010 and twice a semi-finalist, whose heavy top-spin game can be a handful on clay.
Sharapova, who played in the last three French Open finals, winning two, broke four times to seal a convincing win when Stosur fired a forehand wide.
The five-times grand slam champion will take on Czech 13th seed Lucie Safarova for a quarter-final spot.