PARIS (AP)—Top-seeded Maria Sharapova defeated Chanelle Scheepers of South Africa 6-3, 6-1 Wednesday to reach the quarterfinals of the Open GDF Suez.

Sharapova broke for a 4-3 lead in the first set and twice more in the second, clinching the victory when Scheepers netted a backhand.

In first-round matches, American qualifier Bethanie Mattek-Sands finished off Kristina Barrois of Germany with her 10th ace to secure a 7-6 (3), 6-2 win.

American teenager Christina McHale also advanced, edging lucky loser Varvara Lepchenko 6-4, 7-5.

McHale will face Yanina Wickmayer of Belgium. Wickmayer led 6-1 in her first-round match when American veteran Jill Craybas retired because of a right leg injury.

Against Mattek-Sands, Barrois rallied from a 4-1 deficit to force a first-set tiebreaker. But the American won six straight points to take the first set before breaking Barrois twice in the second.

Roberta Vinci of Italy, Klara Zakopalova of the Czech Republic and Monica Niculescu of Romania also advanced.

The seventh-seeded Vinci beat Simona Halep of Romania 6-4, 6-4.

Niculescu outlasted Jarmila Gajdosova of Australia 6-1, 4-6, 6-4 in an erratic match that included 14 service breaks.

Zakopalova cruised past French wild card Alize Cornet 6-3, 6-1, winning eight straight games to lead 5-0 in the second set.

American Robert Kendrick, who served an eight-month suspension for doping, is back on court again.  On Tuesday, the 31-year-old Kendrick fell to teenager Jack Sock 2-6, 7-6 (1), 6-3 in the first round of the $100,000  Challenger of Dallas. He also lost in the first round of the Honolulu Challenger two weeks ago.

Kendrick tested positive for the banned stimulant methylhexaneamine at 2011 Roland Garros and claimed he was unaware that the pill he took contained a banned substance and took it to combat jet lag.

He was hoping to make the 2011 U.S. Open his last tournament, but his appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport was only reduced by four months.

He was unclear after the decision as to whether he would make a return, but given that his partner was due to give birth and he lost a substantial amount of potential earnings, his return is not surprising. — Matt Cronin

American Robert Kendrick, who served an eight-month suspension for doping, is back on court again. On Tuesday, the 31-year-old fell to teenager Jack Sock, 2-6, 7-6 (1), 6-3, in the first round of the $100,000 Challenger in Dallas. He also lost in the first round of the Honolulu Challenger two weeks ago.

Kendrick tested positive for the banned stimulant methylhexaneamine at 2011 Roland Garros, and claimed he was unaware there was a banned substance in the pill, which he took to combat jet lag.

He was hoping to make the 2011 U.S. Open his last tournament, but his appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport was only reduced by four months.

Kendrick was unclear after the decision as to whether he would make a return, but given that his partner was due to give birth and he lost a substantial amount of potential earnings, his return is not surprising.—Matt Cronin