Maria Sharapova reaches 4th round

— -- LONDON -- Maria Sharapova won the last 11 games to reach the fourth round at Wimbledon with a 6-3, 6-0 victory over 44th-ranked Alison Riske of the United States.

Sharapova, the 2004 Wimbledon champion and winner of the French Open earlier this month, was broken in the first game of the match, fell behind 3-1 then shut out Riske the rest of the way, clinching the match with a stinging forehand passing shot.

"I felt better as the match went on," said Sharapova, who lost in the second round at Wimbledon last year. "Alison's a great grass-court player. She's had some of her best results on this surface, so I knew that it was going to be a challenge today. I had a little bit of a slow start.

"I'm just happy to be in the second week after last year's result. I wasn't satisfied. I was looking forward to coming back very soon and here I am, giving myself another chance."

Saturday's match was played with the roof closed on Centre Court, while rain held up play on the outside courts.

Sunday is a scheduled off-day at Wimbledon, the only Grand Slam tournament that takes a break midway through.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.