Amelie Mauresmo warmed French hearts on a blustery, cold day at Roland Garros on Sunday, wiping Magdalena Maleeva off the court 6-2 6-1 to reach the French Open quarter-finals for the second successive year.
The third seed has suffered from crippling nerves at her home grand slam in the past but on Sunday played a sublime match to line up a quarter-final against Elena Dementieva.
Dementieva and Maria Sharapova had earlier led a Russian charge into the last eight.
Ninth seed Dementieva pummelled former world number one Lindsay Davenport 6-1 6-3 while Sharapova raced past Germany's Marlene Weingaertner 6-3 6-1.
In the men's field, 2002 champion Albert Costa lost 6-4 2-6 4-6 7-6 8-6 to Belgium's Xavier Malisse in a third round match held over from Saturday.
Mauresmo's fourth-round victory over the 21st seed was her easiest of the tournament and allowed her to equal her best performance at Roland Garros.
Following wins this season in the leading two claycourt tournaments before the French Open -- in Berlin and Rome -- Mauresmo has established herself as a genuine favourite in her home grand slam.
First she will have to overcome Dementieva who was in cracking form against Davenport.
{{/usCountry}}First she will have to overcome Dementieva who was in cracking form against Davenport.
{{/usCountry}}She was in charge from the start and Davenport, with a sore right knee taped, quickly slumped out of the only grand slam she has yet to win.
"I mean, it was, you know, the kind of day that Americans don't like to play on clay anyways," Davenport said.
"VERY HEAVY"
"It was very heavy, starting off the match. I just wasn't feeling great. And then, you know, early in the second set, just kind of tweaked my knee a little bit.
"It was hard to then kind of know what to do. I mean, you can't stay out there very long."
The victory put ninth seed Dementieva into the quarter-finals of the French Open for the first time.
"I felt pretty fresh today on the court," the Russian said. "Now I'm still here, so I'm very happy."
Sharapova, a 17-year-old originally from Siberia, has yet to drop a set in the tournament and she swept aside her fourth-round opponent with ease.
"Nothing is out of reach for me," she said.
"Every tournament I come into I want to win.
"I have been playing very good and I'm very confident. I don't think anything can stop me -- unless I lose!"
She will play either China's Jie Zheng or 14th seed Paola Suarez of Argentina in the last eight and could face Mauresmo in the semi-finals.
"This tournament isn't over yet," Sharapova added. "To be in the quarters, it's an amazing accomplishment.
Serena Williams, the highest remaining seed in the draw at number two, plays Shinobu Asagoe later on Sunday while her elder sister Venus plays Fabiola Zuluaga of Colombia.
Men's third seed Guillermo Coris meets France's Nicolas Escude and British ninth seed Tim Henman plays another Frenchman Michael Llodra.