French Open: Maria Sharapova defeats Eugenie Bouchard

Defending champion Maria Sharapova was on cout for just 15 minutes to record a rain-delayed win against Canadian teenager Eugenie Bouchard. The Russian, who is seeded second in Paris, returned to Court Philippe Chatrier leading 6-2 4-2 after the match had been interrupted by rain late on Thursday. And it took just four more games for her to complete the task, guaranteeing the win on her first match point when her opponent hit long under pressure. Bouchard, a promising 19-year-old from Quebec, who won the Wimbledon girls’ singles title last year, was handed a lesson in big-time tennis from the four-time Grand Slam champion. Sharapova, a teenage tennis sensation herself when she won the 2004 Wimbledon title at the age of 17, is now on a nine-match winning streak at Roland Garros and next faces China’s Zheng Jie for a place in the last 16 on Saturday. “It was such a long day yesterday and it is always difficult to come back out, so it was important to get off to a good start and I am just happy to finish the match today,” she said. At the same time, French No 1 Marion Bartoli battled into the third round with another hard-fought win, 7-6 (7-5) 7-5 against Colombian qualifier Mariana Duque-Marino, and has now spent over five hours on court in just two matches. There was more Russian success when Maria Kirilenko eased past Australian junior hope Ashleigh Barty 6-3 6-1. Tags: eugene bouchard, French Open, maria sharapova, sharapova bouchard live, sharapova bouchard live stream