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Bacsinszky downs Bouchard in Paris

Paris - Timea Bacsinszky's love affair with Roland Garros continued on Thursday when she swept aside struggling Canadian Eugenie Bouchard 6-4, 6-4 to reach the third round of the French Open.

A semi-finalist last year where she lost to eventual champion Serena Williams, the Swiss eighth seed trailed 1-4 in the first set before she took control, winning 10 games in a row to serve for the match at 5-0 in the second.

Bouchard, a French Open semi-finalist in 2014, the year she rose to fifth in the world, staved off defeat by winning that game and she saved a match point on her own serve to pull back to 5-2.

The fight-back continued with another break of serve and a hold to get to 5-4, but Bacsinszky finally held firm on her serve at the third time of asking to seal the win.

The Swiss No 1 will next play either France's Pauline Parmentier or Irina Falconi of the United States for a place in the last 16.

"I am happy with the win especially as I was 5-0 up and then it was 5-4 and she had two chances to get to 5-5. So I really made it complicated for myself," she said.

"I just love Roland Garros. It brought me back in to tennis three years ago and I reached the semi-finals last year. Ever since I was a little girl I have dreamt of this tournament."

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