NEW YORK: At just 23 years old, Maria Sharapova considers herself still to be in the bloom of youth, but things are moving fast.

Her third-round match at the US Open on Saturday will see her take on 18-year-old American wildcard Beatrice Capra, who idolised the Russian glamour girl as she was growing up It all comes as a bit of a shock to Sharapova, who won Wimbledon in 2004 as a precocious 17-year-old and who was ranked number one in the world a year later.

“It’s pretty crazy because I still somewhat consider myself pretty young, as well — I’d like to think so, at least,” she said.

“You know, to see someone coming up that’s 18, that’s a lot younger than I am, in the third round of the Open is great.

“I think it shows a lot about the younger generation that’s coming up. To see someone especially that’s an American and doing well at the Open is really great.”