Muguruza advances to French Open fourth round

Spanish tennis player Garbiñe Muguruza reached the French Open women's singles fourth round for the second straight year with a 4-6, 6-2, 6-2 victory over Angelique Kerber here, her first win in four career matches against the German.

The 21-year-old Muguruza, who made her first big splash as a professional in last year's Roland Garros by defeating American World No.1 Serena Williams in the second round and going on to reach the quarterfinals, was rewarded for her aggressive hitting from the baseline on Friday on Court 2 of Stade Roland Garros, reports Efe.

The Spaniard struck 33 winners and committed 38 unforced errors, compared to 22 and 31, respectively, for her 11th-seeded opponent.

Next up for Muguruza in Sunday's fourth round will be Italian No.28 seed Flavia Pennetta, who upset Spanish No.8 seed Carla Suarez Navarro 6-3, 6-4.

With one more victory, Muguruza could set up a rematch with Russian No.2 seed Maria Sharapova, who defeated the Spaniard in three sets in last year's French Open quarterfinals en route to her second title at the clay-court Grand Slam event.