Paris: Roger Federer advanced to the third round of the French Open on Wednesday as Maria Sharapova brushed aside fellow Russian Vitalia Diatchenko to also reach the last 32. Last year’s runner-up Simona Halep crashed out.
Swiss second seed Federer beat Marcel Granollers of Spain 6-2, 7-6 (7/1), 6-3 in front of a packed crowd on Court Suzanne Lenglen that included Angus Young, the guitarist of veteran Australian rock band AC/DC. Federer got the job done in one hour, 47 minutes, although he was broken twice and his opponent made life tough in the second set in particular. The 2009 champion eventually came through a tiebreak before running away with the third set and will now meet Damir Dzumhur of Bosnia, who knocked out Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis.
Sharapova, who was also champion at Roland Garros in 2012 and runner-up in 2013, defeated Diatchenko 6-3, 6-1. Croatian veteran Mirjana Lucic-Baroni reached the third round for the first time since 2001 when she defeated third seed Halep 7-5, 6-1.
