French Open 2012: Maria Sharapova Will Continue to Dominate Tournament

Maria Sharapova has been making quick work of her opponents through the first three rounds of the 2012 French Open, and there's no reason to believe she won't continue to do so.

The French Open is a tournament that Sharapova has never won, but 2012 will be the year she captures the title en route to completing a career Grand Slam.

Sharapova has been playing "like she has a taxi waiting," as Brett Haber of Tennis Channel put it after her third-round victory over Shuai Peng.

The current No. 2 women's player in the world has been making short work of her early competition, with her matches lasting little over an hour on average. The woman who once described herself as a "cow on ice" when it comes to playing on clay has been doing her best Rafael Nadal impression so far at Roland Garros.

"I do occasionally still feel like it, and I'm sure I look like it too." Sharapova told the Associated Press regarding the aforementioned comments she made back in 2007.

She may still feel like that, but she certainly doesn't look like it these days.The 25-year-old hasn't had to play a third set so far in this year's French Open.

Considering her early-round performance and the fact she just finished winning her second consecutive Italian Open title, Sharapova seems to have the confidence and drive to come out a champion on the clay this year.

The fact that both Serena and Venus Williams were early exits this year also helps Sharapova have an easier road to the finals, a match she was just one game away from at last year's French Open.

The Russian superstar has been rapidly returning to the Sharapova of old through the past two years. From 2010 to 2011, she moved from 18th to the fourth-ranked women's player in the world.

Now she finds herself with the No. 2 ranking and only several rounds away from placing herself beside Serena as the only two active WTA tour members with a career Grand Slam to their name.

After her victory over Peng, Tennis Channel caught up with Sharapova and asked her if she felt this was the year she'd finally win the French, to which she responded:

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"I certainly feel positive, but we've still got many rounds to go. It only gets tougher from this point."

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With the Williams sisters already out of the tournament and the 2004 WTA Player of the Year playing at the peak of her abilities, it might be an easier road than she thinks. Sharapova is ready to etch her name in the tennis history books by completing a career Grand Slam once she claims the title at Roland Garros.