PARIS, May 30 (RIA Novosti) - Former world no. 1 Maria Sharapova said after her third round victory at Roland Garros that she dreams of lifting the French Open cup.
It took the unseeded Sharapova, who recently returned to tennis after 10 months out with a shoulder injury, two hours and 12 minutes to dispatch Kazakhstan's Yaroslava Shvedova in three sets 1:6, 6:3, 6:4 on Friday.
"It is a respected tournament with a rich history and tradition, of course I want to be among one of those tennis players who have lifted the cup," said the three-time grand slam champion at a post-match press conference.
The 22-year-old, who has slipped to 102 in the world following her injury, said on her performance, "I know what I'm capable of out there. I know what I've done before, and I know I can do it again and even better."
She said that it felt strange to have the backing of the crowd. "You're ranked outside the top 100, so people like you. When you're number one in the world, for some reason they don't like you anymore," and added "In France, I think they always love the underdog."
Sharapova will now face China's Li Na, seeded twenty-fifth, in the fourth round.
