Third seed Amelie Mauresmo moved up a gear in her French Open campaign today, outclassing Bulgaria's Magadalena Maleeva 6-2 6-1 to reach the quarter-finals for the second successive year.
The Frenchwoman's fourth round victory over the 28th seed was her easiest of the tournament and allowed her to equal her best performance at Roland Garros.
Following wins this season in the leading two clay-court tournaments before the French Open - in Rome and Berlin - Mauresmo has established herself as a genuine favourite in her home grand slam.
She now meets Russia's Elena Dementieva, seeded ninth, for a place in the last four.
Russia's Maria Sharapova reached her first grand slam quarter-final when she beat Germany's Marlene Weingaertner 6-3 6-1. She will play either China's Jie Zheng or 14th seed Paola Suarez of Argentina in the last eight.