French Open 2018: Numbers don't lie, says Maria Sharapova after win

Russia's Maria Sharapova returns the ball to Czech Republic's Karolina Pliskova in Paris on Saturday. Pic/Getty Images

Maria Sharapova marked her first appearance on Court Philippe Chatrier in three years with a 6-2, 6-1 rout of Karolina Pliskova to set up a potential French Open Last 16 duel with Serena Williams on Saturday.

Sharapova, 31, the winner in Paris in 2012 and 2014, hadn't played on Roland Garros' showpiece arena since a quarter-final exit in 2015. She served a doping suspension in 2016 and was refused a wildcard in 2017. However, she made up for lost time by firing 18 winners past an under-cooked Pliskova, the sixth seed, in just under an hour. She will next face either 23-time Grand Slam champion Williams or German 11th seed Julia Goerges.

Serena Williams

Sharapova and Serena have met 21 times, with the American leading the head-to-head record 19-2 after 18 consecutive wins. "I think there are a lot of things in her game that she's done much better than I have. Numbers don't lie," admitted Sharapova.

Kvitova makes exit
Estonian 25th seed Anett Kontaveit made the last 16 for the first time by downing Czech eighth seed Petra Kvitova who saw her 13-match win streak end in a horror show of 57 unforced errors. Kontaveit next faces US Open champion Sloane Stephens.

Muguruza too good for Stosur
Former champion Garbine Muguruza reached the last 16 for the fifth successive year with a comfortable 6-0, 6-2 win over Australia's Sam Stosur. Spanish third seed Muguruza, the 2016 winner here and the reigning Wimbledon champ, fired 15 winners past Stosur, the 2010 runner-up and former US Open champion. Top seed Simona Halep eased to a 7-5, 6-0 victory over German Andrea Petkovic to reach the fourth round. Petkovic struggled with a right knee injury in the second set.

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