Maria Sharapova admits she is stunned to have won her fifth grand slam title in a decade and sometimes cannot believe what she has accomplished.

Sharapova lifted her second Roland Garros trophy as she beat Romanian Simona Halep in a three-hour final, the first to go three sets in Paris since 2001.

“It’s incredible to be sitting here 10 years after my first Grand Slam win, and to think that I now have five,” she said. “I don’t know what else to say. At that (2004 Wimbledon) stage you’re 17 years old, and of course you think it was a great tournament, obviously. Can I do that again? Can I win more majors? You always have those question marks.

“So to sit here 10 years later and have five under my belt and to keep going, it’s quite emotional. I mean, I’m still a bit speechless about the victory today.” Sharapova said that as she learned to handle clay tennis, her attitude to the surface changed for the better.

“I didn’t grow up on the surface. It’s not like I didn’t like it. I learned so much on the court with the point construction, but I just never quite felt comfortable with it.

“My biggest problem at a younger age was that I always felt like I had to finish the first few rounds quickly, not go out on the court and be free and just have the attitude of being out there for however long it takes.”

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