WTA: Henin, Sharapova, Kuznetsova, Mauresmo advance in Paris

Paris, France (Sports Network) - Top-seeded and two-time defending champion Justine Henin, Russian stars Maria Sharapova and Svetlana Kuznetsova and heavy French crowd favorite Amelie Mauresmo were among Wednesday's winners at the French Open.
The world No. 1 Henin ran her French Open winning streak to 16 matches with a 7-5, 6-1 second-round decision over 16-year-old Austrian Tamira Paszek. Henin almost blew a 5-0 lead in the first set before rolling in the second stanza following a rain delay.
Rain has disrupted play here on three of the fortnight's first four days, including a virtual rain-out on Monday.
Henin, who reached all four major finals last year, is a five-time Grand Slam champion, including three French titles in the last four years. She bested Kuznetsova in last year's title bout at Roland Garros.
The second-seeded Sharapova upended Frenchwoman Emilie Loit 6-3, 7-6 (7-4), while the third-seeded Kuznetsova dismantled fellow Russian Ekaterina Bychkova 6-0, 6-3 in opening-round action in Paris.
The reigning U.S. Open champion and Aussie Open runner-up Sharapova, who has never reached the semifinals at Roland Garros, has missed significant time this season with a right shoulder injury, but returned last week at a clay- court tune-up tournament in Istanbul.