Tennis-Sharapova passes Stosur test to ease into fourth round

PARIS, May 29 (Reuters) - Defending French Open champion Maria Sharapova passed her first serious test with flying colours, dismissing Australian 26th seed Samantha Stosur 6-3 6-4 to reach the last 16 on Friday. The second seed from Russia had too much poise and pace for Stosur, runner-up in 2010 and twice a semi-finalist, whose heavy top-spin game can be a handful on clay. Sharapova, who played in the last three French Open finals, winning two, broke four times to seal a convincing win when Stosur fired a forehand wide. The five-times grand slam champion will take on Czech 13th seed Lucie Safarova for a quarter-final spot. (Reporting by Julien Pretot; Editing by Martyn Herman)