Maria Sharapova continues at French Open

Defending champion Maria Sharapova booked her place in round four of the French Open thanks to a 6-1 7-5 victory over Zheng Jie this afternoon.

The opening set belonged to Sharapova, who won through in just 36 minutes.

However, it appeared that the Chinese number two was going to force a deciding set when she broke on two occasions for a 4-1 lead. Sharapova battled back and levelled up proceedings though.

Breaks were then traded again for 5-5, before Sharapova won the next two games in succession to secure her route through to the next round.

She will now take on American youngster Sloane Stephens.