No fear for Maria after Henin defeat.

Maria Sharapova is already looking towards Wimbledon giving her career a much-needed boost after she was dumped out of Roland Garros by Justine Henin.

The former world No.1 was beaten 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 by the battling Belgian.

The Russian has been plagued by shoulder and elbow problems, but her three-set defeat on a claycourt surface that suits neither her game nor movement illustrated that the old power, if not the comfort level, was back as she enjoyed one of her better Paris performances. And in spite of the loss Sharapova is feeling confident about the rest of the season.

"My feelings are that in the past few weeks I've been going out on the court and I've been enjoying playing," Sharapova said.

"This part of the season is one of my favourites, going into the grass. I'll be preparing myself as best as I can, having a training week leading up to my next tournament and then Wimbledon.

"But as long as I'm healthy on the court and I'm working my way towards what I want to improve, which I feel like I've done maybe in the past three weeks since my elbow is feeling better, then I've got a real good shot."

Sharapova, who has won Wimbledon, the Australian Open and US Open but has never got beyond the semi-finals in Paris, had her chances yesterday against Henin.

She was 2-0 ahead in the deciding set and had four break points for a 3-0 lead before the gutsy Belgian battled back to take her place in the last 16.

Henin, playing at Roland Garros for the first time since 2007, is also in confident mood as her comeback continues to

gain momentum.

"Maria is a champion. You can't give her any opportunities. I am happy to get through," Henin, the 22nd seed, said after recording her seventh win in ten meetings with the Russian. "It was a real good test. The journey continues and I'm pleased to have a chance to win here at Roland Garros."

Earlier, Dementieva swept into the quarter-finals with an emphatic 6-1, 6-3 victory over South African qualifier Chanelle Scheepers.

The Russian, who struggled to complete her third-round win over Aleksandra Wozniak due to a calf injury, won in 74 minutes to stay on course for a first Roland Garros final since she lost to Anastasia Myskina in the 2004 decider.

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