WHEN Maria Sharapova captured the Wimbledon title as a fresh-faced 17-year-old in 2004 she announced herself on the world stage. Five years on and the blonde bombshell insists she can repeat the trick.

The Florida-based Russian showed glimpses of her former self at last month’s French Open, in her first appearance at a Grand Slam tournament since Wimbledon 2008, reaching the quarterfinal and defeating compatriot and 11th seed Nadia Petrova along the way.

The 22-year-old sustained a serious shoulder injury at the 2008 French Open and required extensive surgery which kept her sidelined for nine months.

Sharapova arrived in Paris with few expectations. She has slipped outside the top 100 in the world and has been forced to tone down her once blockbusting-serve.

But her performances at Roland Garros suggested Sharapova can again be a force at the summit of world tennis.

While her technique is unsurprisingly rusty, her burning desire rages as fiercely as ever.

The three-time Grand Slam winner began her grass court season at the AEGON Classic in Birmingham last Monday and while she admits she faces the biggest challenge of her career to date, Sharapova is relishing every minute of it.

“Why can’t I win Wimbledon?” she said. “If I didn’t think it was a possibility, I wouldn’t be playing.

“I feel good. I had a chance to take a couple of days off after the French Open and I haven’t had that for a couple of months.

“I’ve been working hard to get myself back on the court and I’ve played back-to-back tournaments so it’s been good preparation for Wimbledon.

“My body and shoulder are feeling good. You can practise as much as you want but it’s never like playing a match.

“Playing tournaments is actually the easiest part. You play in a Grand Slam and you have one match then a day off.

The tournament is like a gift.

“At this point in my career it’s difficult for me to step out and expect to win every match I play in.

All I can do is go out there and worry about what I have to do and hopefully my body will stay well and stay healthy.

“I’m proud of the work I’ve put in over the past ten months. At the French Open it was important for me to know that I could come back into a Grand Slam event and hit some great shots when needed and I’m getting back the feeling of being in those match situations.”

In June 2007, Sharapova was listed as the richest sportswoman in the world with estimated annual earnings of more than $23m.

Her undoubted ability combined with her supermodel looks makes Sharapova one of the hottest properties in world sport.

Many in her position would have hung up the racket and settled for the occasional sojourn on the catwalk, but Sharapova is adamant she never contemplated retirement.

“I would never consider retiring,” she said. “This sport gives me so much pleasure and this was the first time in my career I couldn’t pick up a racket for three months.

“Every day I was either home or going to the physical therapist and it was a strange feeling – something was taken away from me that I really love to do.

“I wouldn’t have fought so hard to get back out there if I really didn’t love what I was doing.”

Sharapova is not seeded at the All England Club and the odds will be stacked against her. No unseeded player has ever won the women’s Wimbledon title, but then the Russian is no stranger to breaking new ground.

■ Big-serving Dmitry Tursunov warmed up for Wimbledon by claiming the first grass-court title of his career with victory over Canada’s Frank Dancevic in the AEGON International at Eastbourne on Saturday.

The world number 27, who recently returned to the tour following ankle surgery, was too good for the qualifier and did not face a break point against him as he powered to a 6-3 7-6 (7/5) success.

Despite requiring the attentions of the trainer midway through the match, victory will give hope to Tursunov, who has reached the third round or better in each of the last five Wimbledons, including a 1997 win over Tim Henman.

Tursunov grabbed the crucial break in the eighth game of the first set before serving out to take the lead.

In a second set which went entirely with serve, he held his nerve to take a tight tiebreak.

Tursunov said: ‘‘It’s a good win and it doesn’t matter what surface it is on. Playing on grass can be tough because we only get three or four weeks on it, but it seems like a good surface for me.

‘‘It’s human nature to want to beat someone whether it’s Eastbourne, Wimbledon or a Futures or Challenger event.

And it’s given me some practice on grass, which is very important in the lead-in to Wimbledon.’’