French Open 2018: Sharapova thrashes Pliskova, Serena sails through; Nadal wins

Maria Sharapova of Russia after her win over Karolina Pliskova of Czech Republic

Paris, June 2: Maria Sharapova marched ominously into the fourth round of the French Open with a straight-sets demolition of Karolina Pliskova to set up a potential clash with Serena Williams.

Sharapova took just 59 minutes to send the sixth seed packing, winning 6-2, 6-1 on Court Philippe Chatrier on a warm Saturday in Paris.

Meanwhile, Rafael Nadal set a new personal record of consecutive sets won at the French Open in a ruthless third-round hammering of Richard Gasquet.

The World No 1 took another stride towards an 11th title at Roland Garros by blowing Gasquet away in his homeland, winning 6-3, 6-2, 6-2.

Léo, ballkid, had a nice moment with @RafaelNadal !
Après sa victoire contre Richard Gasquet, Rafa Nadal a joué avec Léo, ramasseur de balles ! 💫❤️#RG18 pic.twitter.com/HDNz5bdFs5
— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) June 2, 2018

Nadal was imperious on Court Philippe Chatrier, taking just under two hours make it 16 wins out of 16 against the startled Frenchman and book an encounter with Maximilian Marterer.

The top seed - who struck 37 winners and broke six times - surpassed his best tally of 32 sets won on the spin in Paris when he won the second set, only Bjorn Borg having bettered that with 41.

Nadal and Gasquet are long-time friends, but the Spaniard treated him with disdain in a blistering start, a partisan crowd showing their appreciation for a magnificent forehand winner down the line on the run.

Halep advances

Simona Halep completed a battling opening week with a 7-5, 6-0 victory over Andrea Petkovic, securing the top seed's place in round four.

The world number one has not had a simple passage into the latter stages of this year's clay-court grand slam, with Petkovic putting in a valiant display on Court 18.

A straight-sets victory looks comfortable on paper but there were still errors in Halep's game that Petkovic should have punished.

18 winners for Sharapova

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The five-time Grand Slam champion blew Pliskova away, converting half of the 10 break-point opportunities that she earned in a dominant display.

.@MariaSharapova va en 8e après sa victoire 6-2 6-1 en seulement 59 minutes de match face à Karolina Pliskova. #RG18 pic.twitter.com/a7bMkoRpwG
— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) June 2, 2018

Sharapova, the 28th seed, will renew her rivalry with Williams if the 23-time major winner comes through her match against Julia Goerges.

The powerful Russian, champion at Roland Garros in 2012 and 2014, struck 18 winners to the Czech's five and made only 19 unforced errors.

"This was my match to win. I wanted to perform well. I played smart and did the right things." the 31-year-old said.

Sharapova was denied a French Open wildcard last year following her return from a 15-month ban for failing a drugs test.

Direction les 8e de finale pour @GarbiMuguruza ! Victoire en 2 secs 6-0-6-2 et sans trembler de la tête de série 3 face à l'Australienne Samantha Stosur. #RG18 pic.twitter.com/Hps8q1H5af
— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) June 2, 2018

Domineering Serena sets up Sharapova showdown

Serena Williams set up a mouth-watering fourth-round showdown with Maria Sharapova at the French Open by beating Julia Goerges on a warm Saturday evening in Paris.

Williams said she was not putting too much expectation on her shoulders in her first grand slam since giving birth nine months ago, but she breezed into the last 16 with a 6-3 6-4 win over Goerges.

The 23-time grand slam singles champion had too much power for the 11th seed, who was broken three times as she felt the force of one of the all-time greats.

Williams, unseeded at Roland Garros, turned 'super hero' again in her Wakanda-inspired catsuit on Court Suzanne Lenglen and will take on old foe Sharapova in a last-16 contest on Monday which is not to be missed.

Easy Breezy

Dominant in win over Goerges, @serenawilliams gets Maria Sharapova next. Recap & Highlights: https://t.co/HhgwEC3tA4 #RG18 pic.twitter.com/XEndBfcXa4
— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) June 3, 2018

Unlucky 13 for Kvitova

Petra Kvitova's 13-match winning run was brought to a juddering halt by Anett Kontaveit in the third round.

Kvitova has been billed as a contender to be crowned champion at Roland Garros for the first time after winning back-to-back titles in Madrid and Prague.

But the 2012 semi-finalist's purple patch was ended by 25th seed Kontaveit, who won 7-6 (8-6), 7-6 (7-4) on Court 1.

Two-time Wimbledon champion Kvitova, who returned to the court last year after suffering serious damage to her left hand in a knife attack, won the first two games of the match but failed to kick on.

She was broken twice in the first set and failed to hold three times in a row in the second, bowing out after saving three match points.

Kvitova paid for making 57 unforced errors, one of which drew gasps in the second-set tie-break when she hammered a straightforward overhead volley way beyond the baseline.

There's Something About @SloaneStephens

The American is back into the R16 here for a 5th time with 4-6 6-1 8-6 win over Giorgi. Next up: Kontaveit. #RG18 pic.twitter.com/lny5cDkedg
— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) June 2, 2018

Estonian Kontaveit will attempt to go beyond the fourth round of a major for the first time when she comes up against Sloane Stephens.

STATISTICAL BREAKDOWN Nadal [1] bt Gasquet [27] 6-3, 6-2,-6-2

WINNERS/UNFORCED ERRORS Nadal - 37/16 Gasquet - 19/24

ACES/DOUBLE FAULTS Nadal - 3/2 Gasquet - 8/1

BREAK POINTS WON Nadal - 6/9 Gasquet - 1/2

FIRST SERVE PERCENTAGE Nadal - 61 Gasquet - 55

PERCENTAGE OF POINTS WON ON FIRST/SECOND SERVE Nadal - 84/70 Gasquet - 58/41

TOTAL POINTS Nadal - 93 Gasquet - 57

STATISTICAL BREAKDOWN Halep [1] bt Petkovic 7-5, 6-0

WINNERS/UNFORCED ERRORS Halep - 19/17 Petkovic - 17/28

ACES/DOUBLE FAULTS Halep - 1/4 Petkovic - 0/4

BREAK POINTS WON Halep - 6/11 Petkovic - 2/2