There was none of the drama endured by Rafael Nadal for defending women's champion Maria Sharapova as she strolled into the second round of the French Open
The length of Nadal’s battle with little-known German Daniel Brands, where the Spaniard was close to being two sets down before turning things round, contributed to Sharapova’s match against Hsieh Su-wei being moved from Court Philippe Chatrier.
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Maria Sharpova
Suzanne Lenglen has been a troublesome venue for the Russian in the past but she needed only 53 minutes to overpower Chinese Taipei’s Hsieh 6-2, 6-1 and set up a clash with rising Canadian teenager Eugenie Bouchard.
Sharapova said: “I was just happy that I was able to finish the match. Obviously getting off the court and seeing the men’s match was still playing, I was happy with the decision that everyone made.”
Last year's victory was Sharapova’s first Roland Garros title, and she added: “It’s nice to come back to a place where you feel like you’re part of its history, where your name will always be ingrained somewhere on the wall or on the trophy. It’s a really nice feeling.”