Mauresmo Upset at French Open; Nadal, Sharapova Win

June 2 (Bloomberg) -- An ailing Amelie Mauresmo was beaten by Lucie Safarova at a second straight Grand Slam tennis tournament, losing in straight sets at the French Open to extend her winless run at her home major. On a day when the sun shone in Paris after a week of rain and blustery winds, Safarova damped French spirits with a 6-3, 7- 6 (7-3) victory about four months after ousting Mauresmo as the defending champion at the Australian Open. Mauresmo, who missed two months following appendix surgery in March, needed treatment in the first set for a lingering groin injury. ``There's no miracle today,'' the fifth seed said in a news conference. ``I've been struggling for weeks and coming here I didn't know what to expect. It showed that when you're not prepared the way you should be, it makes it very hard.''
Defending men's champion Rafael Nadal survived an hour-long first set before beating Albert Montanes 6-1, 6-3, 6-2. He was joined in the last 16 by two veterans -- 30-year-old former champion Carlos Moya and 35-year-old Jonas Bjorkman -- and Lleyton Hewitt, his next challenger.
The home fans' misery was complete when France's final players in the men's draw were ousted. Novak Djokovic, No. 6, was two points from defeat before outlasting wild-card Olivier Patience 7-6 (7-2), 2-6, 3-6, 7-6 (7-4), 6-3 in four hours. Igor Andreev routed Paul-Henri Mathieu 7-6 (7-4), 6-0, 6-3. Marion Bartoli is the lone Frenchwoman remaining.
Medical Help
Mauresmo, who has never advanced past the quarterfinals at Roland Garros in 13 tries, became the highest women's seed to exit so far. Her defeat came after Maria Sharapova and fellow Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova eased into the fourth round.
Mauresmo played aggressive tennis at the start and broke 25th-seeded Safarova to take a 2-0 lead. At 3-4, she left the court for treatment with the tournament doctor and trainer.
Following the resumption of play, Safarova held to love and broke. Mauresmo faltered in the second after again leading 3-0.
Mauresmo said she would take two days off before preparing to defend her title at Wimbledon in London next month. She also intends to play at a warm-up in Eastbourne, England. Safarova's next opponent is Russian ninth-seed Anna Chakvetadze, a 6-4, 6-4 winner over Japan's Ai Sugiyama.
Second-seeded Sharapova advanced 6-1, 6-4 as she continued her comeback from a shoulder injury that's limited her to six tournaments in 2007.
Aches and Pains
``You're always going to have aches and pains somewhere, especially on clay courts,'' said Sharapova, who won the last five games of the match. ``As long as I know I can't damage it further, then I'm cool to play.''
Yet to lose a set, Sharapova next faces 14th-seeded Swiss Patty Schnyder, who downed Italy's Karin Knapp 6-1, 4-6, 7-5.
Third-seeded Kuznetsova, last year's runner-up and singled out as the favorite this year by men's top seed Roger Federer, downed Slovakia's Dominika Cibulkova 6-2, 6-3 to set up an encounter against Israel's Shahar Peer. Peer, seeded 15th, beat Slovenia's Katarina Srebotnik 6-1, 4-6, 6-3.
Ana Ivanovic, one of two Serbian threats in the women's draw, routed Romania's Ioana Raluca Olaru 6-2, 6-0. Yesterday, fourth-seeded countrywoman Jelena Jankovic eliminated five-time Grand Slam winner Venus Williams of the U.S.
Ivanovic's next opponent is Spain's Anabel Medina Garrigues, who needed more than three hours to oust 12th-seeded Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia 4-6, 7-6 (7-2), 7-5.
Long Rallies
Nadal saved six break points in the first set -- one game lasted 20 minutes alone and ended with a Nadal break after eight deuces.
Nadal, trying to become the first man since Bjorn Borg from 1978-81 to win three straight French Open titles, had fewer problems in the final two sets against his fellow Spaniard and closed it out in under 2 1/2 hours. Like Federer, he hasn't dropped a set yet.
Australia's Hewitt, a two-time Grand Slam champion who took Nadal to three sets at the Hamburg Masters last month, battled past Finland's Jarkko Nieminen 1-6, 6-3, 7-5, 6-2.
``He's playing at his best level,'' Nadal said. ``And at his best level, he's one of the best players in the world.''
Djokovic, who trails only Nadal in match wins in 2007, held his nerve at 30-all, 4-5 in the fourth set, and saved three break points at 3-3 in the fifth. He then broke, and saved another break point while serving out for the match.
``I played better at the crucial moments,'' Djokovic said.
Swedish Veteran
Bjorkman, the oldest player remaining in the singles draw, matched his best Roland Garros performance by beating Spain's Oscar Hernandez 6-7 (3-7), 6-3, 6-0, 6-1 to make the last 16. The Swede, a semifinalist at Wimbledon last year, came back from two sets down in his first two matches.
``It's a huge surprise for me and everyone,'' Bjorkman said. ``I'm amazed.'' Moya, Nadal's mentor, beat Argentine Juan Pablo Brzezicki 6-1, 6-3, 7-5 to set up a clash against Bjorkman.
Cyprus's Marcos Baghdatis, last year's Australian Open runner-up, advanced when his Czech opponent Jan Hajek retired trailing 6-2, 6-2. Spain's Fernando Verdasco pulled off a minor upset in the last match completed, beating Davis Cup teammate and 12th-seed David Ferrer 4-6, 7-6 (7-2), 6-3, 6-3.
To contact the reporter on this story: Ravi Ubha at Roland Garros through the London office at rubha@bloomberg.net