• French Open, Day Three

Baltacha follows Watson into round two

Elena Baltacha recovered from 5-3 down in the first set © Getty Images

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French Open: Day Three - Gallery

Plays of the day

Elena Baltacha followed in Heather Watson's footsteps to reach the second round of the French Open, in the process becoming only the second British woman to do so in 17 years.

Baltacha beat American prospect Sloane Stephens 7-5 6-2 to clinch her first main-draw victory at Roland Garros, ensuring three British players will compete in the second round: Baltacha, Watson and Andy Murray, who won in straight sets on Tuesday.

Stephens, an 18-year-old qualifier who is expected to have a big future, clinched an early break to lead 4-2 in the first set, before being offered the chance to serve for the win at 5-3. But Baltacha, who has impressed on clay this year, showed her experience by coming thundering back, rattling off four straight games to claim the opening frame.

Stephens' capitulation appeared to knock the wind from her sails, and Baltacha raced to the win with two breaks in the second set.

Ana Ivanovic became the highest profile casualty of the first round of the French Open after a curious three-sets defeat to previously unheralded Swede Johanna Larsson.

Ivavonic, winner at Roland Garros in 2008, has struggled for form recently and showed no consistency in her clash with Larsson. After losing the first set in a tie-break, the 20th seed looked to have rallied back as she took the second set to love.

Ana Ivanovic was dumped out on Tuesday © PA Photos

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But the deciding set saw yet another shift in momentum, with Larsson rediscovering her form and romping to victory with remarkable ease, with the final scoreline ultimately reading 7-6(3) 0-6 6-2.

Elsewhere, world No. 2 Kim Clijsters, who has been out for two months with an ankle problem, showed no signs of injury as she beat Anastasiya Yakimova 6-2 6-3 in 80 minutes.

Maria Sharapova swept aside the challenge of Mirjana Lucic in under an hour to advance. The Russian, seeded seventh, dominated after breaking to lead 4-3 in the first set, stringing together nine successive games to complete an authoritative 6-3 6-0 victory in only 56 minutes.

The 24-year-old preyed on multiple errors made by her inferior opponent and, securing a bagel in the second stanza, demonstrated she will be a force to be reckoned with as she eyes a first career title at Roland Garros.

Sharapova was joined in the second round by China's sixth-seeded Li Na, who overcame a second-set wobble against Barbora Zahlavova Strycova to progress 6-3 6-7(6) 6-3.

There were no scares for fourth seed Victoria Azarenka as she cruised past Andrea Hlavackova 6-3 6-3, while Yanina Wickmayer wasted little time in progressing to the next stage, comfortably beating Monica Niculescu 6-0 6-3.

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