Maria advances at French Open

Maria Sharapova reached the fourth round of the French Open for the fourth time in her career Saturday, coming back from 4-1 down in the second set to beat Alla Kudryavtseva 6-1, 6-4 despite an apparently bothersome right shoulder.

The second-seeded Russian needed only 28 minutes to win the first set, breaking her opponent's serve three times. But Sharapova was broken three consecutive times in the second set, before winning five straight games.

Sharapova, who lost in the fourth round last year and reached the quarterfinals at Roland Garros in 2004 and 2005, will next face either No. 14 Patty Schnyder or Karin Knapp — and could also meet No. 5 Amelie Mauresmo in the quarterfinals.

Sharapova, who has 15 career titles and lost to Serena Williams in the final of the Australian Open, has yet to win a title this year.

Earlier in the tournament, she said she still felt soreness from a shoulder injury that caused her to miss about two months of action. Against Kudryavtseva, Sharapova stretched or flexed her right shoulder between points.