Wimbledon:Maria Sharapova feels something special is "missing" from Wimbledon this year, but has every intention of gracing Centre Court again on finals day.
The 2004 champion got her first taste of the showpiece venue without its roof when she disposed of stubborn Frenchwoman Severine Bremond in straight sets to book her place in the third round.
As the All England Club undertake a substantial redevelopment programme, it will be another 12 months before the famous arena is returned to something like its former glory. That cannot come soon enough for the 20-year-old number two seed.
"It is like someone took off the torch from the Statue of Liberty, or the arc from the Arc de Triomphe," quipped the Russian, currently ranked second in the world. "It is my favourite court to play on, but it's definitely so weird, the atmosphere.
"It's missing that little touch, missing that something that I think all the players love to see. It's not just about the roof - it's the whole feeling of it."
Sharapova added: "I had just seen pictures of it, and didn't see it until I actually walked on court, so that was a little bit of a change."
The 2004 champion produced some superb tennis as she breezed through the opening set 6-0, before then having to maintain focus to eventually see off the challenge of the world number 37 in an hour and 17 minutes.
The opening game of the second set lasted almost half as long as the whole of the first had, with 22 points before Sharapova finally broke serve.
"It seemed like a huge part of the match," she said following the 6-0 6-4 win. "Although it is just one game, sometimes even when you lose that one, sometimes it can really change the momentum of the match."
Sharapova had to stay focused in order to finally see off Bremond, who was a quarter-finalist here last year.
"In the past when I used to play those kind of opponents, I probably wasn't patient enough," said the Russian, who had been hampered by a recent shoulder problem. "I used to go for too much off the slices, try to win the point as quickly as I could. That is one of the things which I've definitely improved.
"I still didn't feel like I came in as much as he could have, especially in the second set. I had so many opportunities that I didn't take, but it's still a work in progress."
Sharapova produced a fairytale victory at the All England Club three years ago when she swept all before her as a teenager.
Since then, the young Russian has gone on to claim the world number one spot as well as the 2006 US Open title.
Provided her injury problems to not flare up again, this could yet be another vintage year for the girl from Siberia with the sunshine smile.
"I'm physically a lot fitter than I was back then when I won it," she said. "I have the confidence on the court when I'm in those tough situations and I'm able to dig it out, not just mentally but physically as well.
"So, yeah, that gives me a lot of confidence."
Sharapova will face Japan's Ai Sugiyama, the 26th seed, for a place in the last 16.
While the Russian knows things will only "get tougher from here", she feels comfortable with her progress.
"It's a different year in different circumstances, so it's really hard to compare, but I'm definitely confident," Sharapova said.
"I've played a lot of matches in the last few months. Despite the injury, I still feel like today was a big improvement from my first round.
"I know it's only going to get tougher from here - but as long as I keep going out there and enjoying myself as much as I've been doing in the last couple matches, I'll be fine.
"If it's a bad day, then it's a bad day."