World number five Angelique Kerber secured her place in round three of the French Open thanks to a 6-2 7-5 victory over Varvara Lepchenko this afternoon.

The opening set proved to be a straightforward affair for the German, who broke Lepchenko on two separate occasions in a little under 30 minutes.

Both players found it difficult to keep hold of their respective service games during the second set, but the decisive break came in the 11th game as Kerber opened up a 6-5 advantage.

She then faced two break points as Lepchenko tried to force a tie-breaker, but Kerber battled on to win through in one hour and four minutes.

Kerber will take on either Daniela Hantuchova or Claire Feuerstein for a place in round four.