The second round of the 2014 French Open began on Wednesday at Roland Garros. The losses of Serena and Venus Williams dominated the headlines, but some other women deserve attention as well.

Solid day for top-10 seeds not named Serena

With the top two seeds now on the sidelines, the draw at Roland Garros has opened wide. Several top-10 seeds who were in action Wednesday, have their eyes squarely on the prize in Paris.

Third-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska has yet to drop a set through two matches after defeating Karolina Pliskova 6-3 6-4. Radwanska won 75 percent of her first service points in the match. She will advance to face Ajla Tomljanovic in the third round.

Meanwhile, Maria Sharapova continued her solid play on Wednesday, defeating Tsvetana Pironkova of Bulgaria 7-5 6-2. With the exit of Serena Williams, the 2012 champion may have now become the favorite.

Sharapova overcame a 4-2 deficit in the first set by exhibiting more aggression and took control of that set and ultimately the match. The 7th seed is now 49-4 in her last 53 matches on clay, losing just once this season.

Elsewhere, Angelique Kerber eliminated American Varvara Lepchenko 6-2 7-5. Kerber broke Lepchenko twice in the first set and then held her off in the second, overcoming two break points as Lepchenko looked to force a second-set tiebreak. The 8th seed will advance to face veteran Daniela Hantuchova in the third round.

Ninth seed and Australian Open finalist Dominka Cibulkova advanced in impressive fashion on Wednesday. She defeated a gutsy Tamira Paszek of Austria 6-3 6-4. The Slovak jumped out to a quick start in the match, but Paszek continued to fight throughout. 

Young American picks up pieces 

On a day in which Americans Serena and Venus Williams were both eliminated, it was young Taylor Townsend who attempted to provide a silver lining for the United States. She upset Alize Cornet of France in front of her home crowd 6-4 4-6 6-4. 

Townsend, who has spent most of her year in American ITF tournaments, entered the French Open ranked No. 205. She was given a wildcard berth from the USTA based on results from this spring. Townsend won back-to-back tournaments at Indian Harbor Beach and Charlottesville in April and May.

With the victory, the 18-year-old advanced to the third round, becoming the  youngest American to reach that mark since 2003. She will face 14th-seeded Carla Suarez Navarro next.

Just four days into the second Grand Slam, there are only four Americans left standing in the women's draw. Sloane Stephens now gives them the best chance for a deep run at Roland Garros. Townsend joins Alison Riske, Coco Vandeweghe, and Stephens as Americans left competing.

Meanwhile Cornet, who had been labeled as a dark horse at her home Grand Slam, will exit. This leaves just two French players in the draw. The hopes of France in Paris will now rely on Kristina Mladenovic and Pauline Parmentier, with neither player ranked inside the top 100.

Bouchard mentally strong in comeback

The 18th-seeded Eugenie Bouchard overcame a dismal first set to defeat Julia Goerges 2-6 6-2 6-1. Bouchard struggled early but showed mental toughness. “For sure, it definitely wasn’t one of my best days, but I’m proud that I was able to turn it around,” she said. “It was definitely more of a mental win today to get my game back in the right place.”

The Montreal native dug a hole behind 15 unforced errors in the first set before she garnered control of the match. She will face Johanna Larsson next, who upset 12th-seeded Flavia Pennetta 5-7 6-4 6-2 earlier. Bouchard entered Paris off the heels of her first WTA title in Nurnberg.