Seed 2 Sharapova Eases to R2

Second seed Maria Sharapova breezed into the second round at the French Open with a 6-0 6-0 victory over Romania's Alexandra Cadantu.

The 25-year-old Russian, who has never reached the final at Roland Garros, took only 48 minutes to beat the world number 78 on the Court Suzanne Lenglen.

Cadantu won only 18 points in the match and did not hit a single winner.

World number two Sharapova will next go up against Ayumi Morita of Japan, after she overcame Polona Hercog.

Fifth seed Serena Williams is at the top of Sharapova's section of the draw and the two could meet at the quarter-final stage.

Williams plays Virginie Razzano of France later on Tuesday.

Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova advanced with a comfortable 6-2 6-1 win against Australian wildcard Ashleigh Barty, the youngest player in this year's draw, who was only 16 last month.

The 22-year-old fourth seed, who has never progressed beyond the fourth round at the French Open, will now play Poland's Urszula Radwanska, who beat Pauline Parmentier of France 6-4 6-3.

Italian Francesca Sciavone, the 2010 French Open champion, beat 41-year-old Kimiko Date-Krumm of Japan, the third-oldest woman to play at Roland Garros in the professional era, 6-3 6-1.

Krumm hit 15 winners, two more than 31-year-old Schiavone, but was guilty of 35 unforced errors as the 14th seed booked a second round encounter with Bulgaria's Tsvetana Pironkova, who came from a set down to defeat Yanina Wickmayer of Bulgaria 3-6 6-0 6-3.

Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, the 22nd seed, beat Greta Arn of Hungary 6-4 6-4 and plays Anne Keothavong's conqueror Melinda Czink in the next round.