Mauresmo thriving in the calm after the storm

You could forgive Amelie Mauresmo if she did not have much time for the British press. The tabloids' initial depiction of the Frenchwoman as some sort of freak of nature was far from flattering. It was also far from accurate, as anyone who has met her will testify. But Mauresmo is not bitter. "I don't worry too much about these people," she says. "I just do my thing."

At the moment, that is winning tennis matches in style and looking increasingly dangerous in the bottom half of the draw. On Friday, she swept aside Anastasia Myskina, the Russian girl who had entered the Championships on the back of two final appearances, at Edgbaston and Eastbourne respectively.

Mauresmo's performances so far have been all the more impressive because she has looked a natural grass-court player, mixing serve-and-volley with powerful ground strokes. "I'm really happy with the way I've been playing this week," Mauresmo says. "The nicest thing for me is that I'm in good form and enjoying myself as well. It is difficult to explain, but I just feel right at the moment. It's great to try things in your game during practice and then see them come off during a match."

The feeling is now that her potential quarter-final with Jennifer Capriati could be the match of the women's tournament. Before then, though, Mauresmo must overcome Laura Granville. That seemed a formality just a few days ago, but the American qualifier has since eliminated the 31st seed, Nicole Pratt, as well as Mauresmo's compatriot Mary Pierce. "I don't know Laura at all," Mauresmo admits, "but if she has got this far, and particularly beaten Mary, then she must not be underestimated. It will be one of those tricky matches where she has nothing to lose, but if I continue playing well, there is no reason why I cannot win."

Mauresmo adds: "I really want to keep going forward and inject a bit more aggression into my game. It sounds crazy but I'm actually not thinking about my potential opponents at all. My only concern is to become a better, more complete player. That's my biggest motivation at the moment, and, to be honest, I'm finding it fun to push myself to the limit. I must be doing something right if I've got myself into the second week of Wimbledon for the first time."

Mauresmo seems confident and happy – more so than at any time since she announced herself on the world stage so markedly Down Under three years ago. Those who have been following her progress since she defeated Lindsay Davenport, who was world No 1 at the time, in the semi-finals of the Australian Open in 1999, before going on to lose in the final against Martina Hingis, say that Mauresmo is more settled now. This owes much to the fact that she is no longer hounded by the media, nor openly criticised by her fellow players (Hingis once called her "half man", and Nathalie Tauziat complained that she and her partner, Sylvie Bourdon, staged too many public displays of affection).

Meeting Mauresmo, she comes across as tall and athletic, but also pretty and charming. And she is young, too, a fact that is often overlooked whenever discussion centres on her professional or personal life. How many 22-year-olds have had their bodies, let alone their sexuality, questioned so very publicly?

Mauresmo has dealt with everything that has been thrown at her without ever biting back. She has made a point of never discussing non-tennis matters, and all she will say about her private life is that she has found "a new serenity in my life" since her much-publicised relationship with Bourdon ended 18 months ago.

Today, her only concern is her physique. Having picked up a slight thigh injury during her third-round match, Mauresmo received treatment yesterday and has been relaxing as much as possible. "It's funny because the injury actually concentrated my mind more against Myskina," she says. "Suddenly, I wasn't worrying about the surroundings or the importance of the event, but rather just trying to get through to the next round. I am trying not to put too much pressure on the leg, but I am sure it is not too serious. I will be fine."

Her decision to take in a round of golf early this morning is testament to that. "I love the sport," she says. "It allows me to totally empty my head. I think of nothing when I am on the course."

Come tomorrow, however, she will have to be fully focused on her tennis again. Martina Navratilova, the greatest grass-court player of all time, believes Mauresmo has "all the tools to play well at the net and win Wimbledon". The pressure, it would seem, is back on her young shoulders.