Thursday, 15 August 2019:

ASHLEIGH BARTY of Australia plays a forehand during her ladies singles quarter-final match of the French Open at Roland Garros in Paris, France.

Ashleigh Barty "sliced and diced" her way past Maria Sharapova in straight sets at Cincinnati Open to return to winning ways less than a fortnight out from the US Open.

The world No.2 Australian - who lost her top ranking on Monday after an early exit last week in Canada - outsmarted the former Cincinnati champion, winning 6-4 6-1 in one hour and 27 minutes on Wednesday.

"I mean, it was certainly no panic sessions after last week," Barty told the press.

"I knew I was a little bit underdone going into Toronto and certainly had no worries or concerns there.

"I feel like I have been striking the ball really well over the last seven or eight days. I found my groove a little bit more.

"Then it was just going out there trying to execute playing against one of the best competitors of the world and making sure I had to be there present and ready for every single point."

It was Barty's 40th win of the season - her win-loss record is 40-7 - and she trails only Dutchwoman Kiki Bertens (41-16) for wins on the WTA circuit in 2019.

Before their match, Sharapova said Barty's tricky arsenal reminded her of Belgian great Justine Henin.

"Not an easy match and really not an easy match-up for me. I think she does a lot of things well. She's a tricky opponent," she said.

Barty will next face Anett Kontaveit after the Estonian beat Polish teenager Iga Swiatek 6-4 7-6 (7-2).

And the 23-year-old made it clear she held Kontaveit, ranked world No.20, in high regard.

"There aren't too many flaws in her game at all," Barty said.

"I think for me it's important to try and bring in my variety as much as I can, make sure I move well and make her play a lot of balls and try and spread the court as much as possible."

World No.1 Naomi Osaka improved to 4-0 lifetime against Aliaksandra Sasnovich with a 7-6 (7-3) 2-6 6-2 win while Wimbledon champion Simona Halep and world No.3 Karolina Pliskova also progressed to the last 16.

Others to reach the third round on Wednesday were Elina Svitolina, Sloane Stephens, Sofia Kenin, Madison Keys, Arya Sabalenka, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Hsieh Su-wei, Donna Vekic, Rebecca Peterson, Madison Keys, Naomi Osaka and Svetlana Kuznetsova.

AAP