Maria Sharapova Defeats Eugenie Bouchard to Advance at 2013 French Open

While a rainy Thursday at Roland Garros interrupted the flow of play in many matches, defending French Open champion and world No. 2 Maria Sharapova didn't let that slow her down as she took care of Canadian upstart Eugenie Bouchard 6-2, 6-4 in straight sets.

Sharapova was never threatened by the 18-year-old Bouchard as she advanced to the third round in impressive fashion. This is nothing new for Sharapova as she tends to breeze through early-round matches at Grand Slams. In fact, she only dropped one set en route to her first French Open title last year.

Rain halted the match with Sharapova leading 4-1 in the first set and up two breaks, according to Craig Smith of 1310 News in Ottawa, but Sharapova was able to refocus and take care of the business at hand when play resumed on Friday.

The Russian star made quick work of Chinese Taipei's Su-Wei Hsieh in the first round and had little problem carrying her momentum into the second round. Sharapova will have a tougher test in the third round as she takes on China's Zheng Jie, who took care of American Melanie Oudin on Thursday.

Zheng is a smallish counter-puncher who moves well on clay; however, she doesn't have the tools necessary to truly challenge Sharapova. What Sharapova lacks in terms of movement on clay, she more than makes up for with pure power and the mental toughness necessary to grind out difficult points.

Sharapova has never been known as a great clay-court player, but she has really improved in that regard over the past couple years. Her run at Roland Garros last year was particularly impressive, as the victory allowed her to complete the career Grand Slam. She has won each of the four Grand Slam tournaments, but she is hoping that she can be a repeat winner at the French Open.

If Sharapova's performance in the first two rounds is any indication, she will definitely be a factor in this tournament. Most anticipate world No. 1 Serena Williams reaching the final in her half, as she is rolling through the competition in her own right, but Sharapova hasn't been given the benefit of the doubt by everyone despite her strong showing last year.

With that said, Sharapova's draw got a bit easier on Thursday as American Bethanie Mattek-Sands shocked 2011 French Open champion Li Na in three sets. Li might have been Sharapova's semifinal opponent assuming she makes it that far, but that will obviously no longer be the case.

World No. 3 Victoria Azarenka may represent Sharapova's biggest hurdle now, but the Belarusian star has never advanced past the quarterfinals at Roland Garros. She may just be coming into her own on clay like Sharapova has in recent years, so it will be interesting to see how things play out in that regard.

Whatever the case, Sharapova is off to another fine start in the French Open, and she promises to be a contender moving forward. No female player has won consecutive French Opens since Justin Henin won three straight from 2005 through 2007, but Sharapova has a golden opportunity to end that drought.

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