Sharapova reaches quarter-finals

Kristina Mladenovic of France upset two-time defending champion Angelique Kerber 6-2, 7-5 to join Maria Sharapova in the quarter-finals of the Porsche Grand Prix on Thursday in Stuttgart, Germany. Sharapova advanced earlier by beating fellow Russian Ekaterina Makarova 7-5, 6-1 in her second match after a 15-month doping ban. Mladenovic won just one set in three previous matches against Kerber, but dominated large parts of Thursday’s match. It was the top-seeded German’s first defeat in the event since 2014. Less than 24 hours after beating Roberta Vinci in straight sets in her highly anticipated first match, Sharapova said she “felt settled down a little bit. I was able to focus on the game. I executed a great plan today and I thought I was solid.”