Sharapova into quarter-finals at French Open

Russia’s Maria Sharapova serves to Australia’s Samantha Stosur during their fourth round match of the French Open tennis tournament at the Roland Garros stadium, in Paris, France, Sunday, June 1, 2014. AP

PARIS – Maria Sharapova stayed on course for a second French Open title with a battling 3-6, 6-4, 6-0 fourth round win over Australia’s Samantha Stosur on Sunday.

Stosur, the losing finalist in Paris in 2010, the year before she won her only major to date at the US Open, dominated the first set with two breaks of serve.

But seventh seed Sharapova steadied the ship to lead 2-0 at the start of the second before Stosur leveled at 2-2.

The ninth game proved to be crucial as Sharapova fired down two stunning winners to break again and then held serve to level the match.

The Russian, who won the French Open in 2012 to complete a sweep of all four Grand Slam titles, grabbed another break to open the decider and with the Stosur challenge visibly wilting, she turned on the power to reach her third straight quarter-final in Paris.

Sharapova will next play unseeded Spaniard Garbine Muguruzu who defeated French wildcard Pauline Parmentier 6-4, 6-2 for a place in the semi-finals.

“I am so happy to be back in the quarter-finals as it is such a special tournament for me,” said Sharapova.

“I just hope I can raise my level and play even better in the second week.”