Maria Sharapova has reached the French Open’s third round for the seventh consecutive year, setting up a showdown against four-time champion Justine Henin.
Seeking the only Grand Slam title she hasn’t won, the 12th-seeded Sharapova beat 71st-ranked Kirsten Flipkens of Belgium 6-3, 6-3 Friday in a match that was suspended because of darkness the night before.
Sharapova had five aces and one double-fault against Flipkens, who dropped to 0-14 against players ranked in the top 20. Now comes a tougher test for Sharapova: a match against Henin, who eliminated Klara Zakopalova of the Czech Republic 6-3, 6-3 to get to the third round.
Henin was upbeat about the clash and said she was looking forward to resuming hostilities with Maria Sharapova after both players came through their second-round ties to set up a mouth-watering French Open clash.
Henin is bidding for her fifth Roland Garros title, having returned to the sport at the beginning of this year after retiring in 2008.