Mauresmo eliminated

8220;I was fighting for each point,8221; said Safarova, seeded 25th in Paris. 8220;I never give up.8221; Mauresmo led 3-0 in each set. But she double-faulted for the eighth time to fall behind 0-2 in the tiebreaker, and a long backhand gave Safarova three match points.

8220;The fact is that there8217;s no miracle today,8221; Mauresmo said. 8220;I smean, I8217;ve been struggling for weeks now. Coming here at the French Open, I didn8217;t really know what to expect.8221;

Safarova won when Mauresmo returned her serve into the net. At 4-3 in the first set, tournament doctor Bernard Montalvan came on center court to treat Mauresmo, who then left for several minutes to take a medical break. When she returned, the top of her right thigh was wrapped.

Mauresmo said her fitness had suffered after she had her appendix removed in March. 8220;I did not have any particular goal for this tournament because I didn8217;t have enough preparation,8221; Mauresmo said.

The 27-year-old Mauresmo has never reached the semi-finals at Roland Garros in 13 attempts since her debut in 1995.

8220;I was very nervous at the beginning,8221; Safarova said. 8220;I tried to just concentrate on each point. I tried to come for each point, to play aggressive. I think that8217;s why I won.8221;

She will next play Anna Chakvetadze. The ninth-seeded Russian beat No. 21 Ai Sugiyama of Japan 6-4, 6-4.

Maria Sharapova reached the fourth round of the French Open for the fourth time in her career, coming back from 1-4 down in the second set to beat Alla Kudryavtseva 6-1, 6-4 despite a bothersome right shoulder.

The second-seeded Russian needed only 28 minutes to win the first set, breaking her opponent three times. But Sharapova was broken thrice in the second set, before winning five games on the trot.

8220;I was making a lot of unforced errors,8221; Sharapova said. 8220;Not a lot of people are going to let me get away with that. It8217;s a good reminder for the future not to let that happen again.8221;

Sharapova will face Patty Schnyder next and could also meet Safarova in the quarter finals.

Schnyder of Switzerland beat Karin Knapp of Italy 6-1, 4-6, 7-5; and No. 15 Shahar Peer of Israel progressed after defeating No. 17 Katarina Srebotnik of Slovenia 6-1, 4-6, 6-3. Anabel Medina Garrigues, seeded 24, of Spain topped No. 12 Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia 4-6, 7-6 7-2, 7-5 in a match lasting more than three hours.

In men8217;s play, No. 16 Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus was leading 6-2, 6-2 when Jan Hajek of the Czech Republic retired with an injury to his right shoulder.

Jonas Bjorkman of Sweden toppled Oscar Hernandez of Spain 6-7 3-7, 6-3, 6-0, 6-1, and Igor Andreev of Russia beat Paul-Henri Mathieu of France 7-6 7-4, 6-0, 6-3.

Former champion Carlos Moya set up a clash of the 8216;golden oldies8217; when he cruised into the fourth round by defeating Argentine qualifier Juan Pablo Brzezicki 6-1, 6-3, 7-5. He will play 35-year-old Bjorkman, the oldest player in the men8217;s draw, for a place in the quarter-finals. Second seeded Spaniard Rafael Nadal had it easy against compatriot Albert Montanes winning in straight sets 6-1, 6-3, 6-2 to make it to the fourth round.

Highly-fancied Serb Novak Djokovic was forced to dig deep before overcoming French wildcard Olivier Patience in five sets. The sixth seed eventually triumphed 7-6, 2-6, 3-6, 7-6, 6-3 but not before being given a severe test by an inspired opponent ranked more than 100 places below him.

Djokovic, 20, twice served to stay alive in the fourth set, before levelling the match with some pinpoint hitting in a tense tie-break. Patience saved six break points in the second game of the decider.

INDIANS AT THE OPEN

Paes and Damm stunned; Bhupathi on course

Leander Paes and Martin Damm crashed out of the French Open men8217;s doubles after a three-set loss in the second round today.

The Indo-Czech pair, went down 3-6, 6-1, 3-6 to Michael Kohlmann and Rainer Schuettler of Germany. Meanwhile, Mahesh Bhupathi and Radek Stepanek from the Czech Republic advanced beating Spaniard Guillermo Garcia-Lopez and Filippo Volandri of Italy 6-1, 6-3. Partnering American Meghann Shaughnessy Paes, shocked Mike Bryan of the USA and Yung-Jan Chan of Taiwan 6-2, 6-0.

Important results

Men8217;s singles third round

Carlos Moya 23, Spain bt Juan Pablo Brzezicki Argentina 6-1, 6-3, 7-5; Jonas Bjorkman Sweden bt Oscar Hernandez Spain 6-73-7, 6-3, 6-0, 6-1; Marcos Baghdatis 16, Cyprus bt Jan Hajek Czech Republic 6-2, 6-2 Hajek retired; Rafel Nadal 2, Spain beat Albert Montanes 6-1, 6-3, 6-2.

Women8217;s singles 3rd round

Maria Sharapova 2, Russia bt Alla Kudryavtseva Russia 6-1, 6-4; Ana Ivanovic 7, Serbia bt Ioana Raluca Olaru Romania 6-2, 6-0; Svetlana Kuznetsova 3, Russia bt Dominika Cibulkova Slovakia 6-2, 6-3; Patty Schnyder 14, Switzerland bt Karin Knapp Italy 6-1, 4-6, 7-5.

Men8217;s doubles 2nd round

Michael Kohlmann and Rainer Schuettler Germany bt Martin Damm and Leander Paes 3, Czech Republic and India 6-3, 1-6, 6-3; Mahesh Bhupathi and Radek Stepanek India and Czech Republic bt Guillermo Garcia-Lopez and Filippo Volandri Spain and Italy 6-1, 6-3.