Sharapova survives scare

When Sharapova pulled it out on her first match point, as Schnyder sailed a forehand wide to get broken again, the Russian covered her face with both hands and looked on the verge of tears. As both players met at the net, there was a mix of boos and applause.

The second-seeded Russian will next face No. 9 Anna Chakvetadze, who beat No. 25 Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic 6-4, 0-6, 6-2.

Sharapova pumped her fist and screamed encouragement to herself throughout the third set at Roland Garros.

In the 15th game, Sharapova won a disputed point when serving at 30-love. Schnyder watched the serve land in the box, but complained she wasn8217;t ready. The chair umpire ruled the point would count, giving Sharapova her only ace of the match.

At almost the same time, Russian Nikolay Davydenko chose the perfect time to snap a run of four straight defeats by David Nalbandian on Sunday, edging through a punishing fourth-round contest 6-3, 7-6 1 3-6 7-6 2 to reach the quarter finals.

The fourth seed, beaten by Nalbandian at the quarter final stage last year, withstood a superb fightback by the Argentine after appearing to be cruising at two

sets up.

The match looked to be heading into a fifth set as the sun set on Centre Court but the Russian broke Nalbandian8217;s serve trailing 4-5 when the stubborn Argentine missed a straightforward volley.

He then brought up four matchpoints in the tiebreak with a trademark backhand pass and despite an umpire overrule on the first one he put away an easy forehand to end Nalbandian8217;s resistance.

Serena Williams and Justine Henin also won, setting up a quarter final showdown. Williams beat Dinara Safina of Russia 6-2, 6-3, while two-time defending champion Henin beat No. 20 Sybille Bammer 6-2, 6-4.

Roger Federer also advanced to the quarter finals, beating No. 13 Mikhail Youzhny of Russia 7-6 3, 6-4, 6-4. The top-ranked Swiss star tied the Open-era record for most consecutive sets won at Grand Slams, taking his streak to 35.

Federer next faces No. 9 Tommy Robredo, who defeated No. 29 Filippo Volandri of Italy 6-2, 7-5, 6-1. Federer beat Robredo at the Australian Open.

Federer, trying to win his fourth consecutive major title and complete a career Grand Slam, also matched another Grand Slam mark with 11 straight-set victories in a row.

John McEnroe set both records during Wimbledon and the US Open in 1984. He hasn8217;t lost a set at a major tournament since dropping the second set of last year8217;s US Open final against Andy Roddick.

The 10th-seeded Safina broke Williams at love to even the second set at 3-3, but the American then won 12 of the last 14 points.

Safina hurt herself with five double-faults, but her powerful groundstrokes keep Williams moving all over the court.

8220;She hit hard, then she hit lobs, then she hit soft balls,8221; Williams said. 8220;She really gave me a lot of different pace.8221;

Henin is trying to win her third French Open title. 8220;I know she8217;s playing great, but I never count myself out,8221; said Williams, who lost to Henin in a contentious 2003 French Open semi-final match.

Third-seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova advanced by beating No. 15 Shahar Peer of Israel 6-4, 6-3, and No. 6 Nicole Vaidisova reached the quarter finals by defeating No. 19 Tathiana Garbin of Italy 6-3, 6-1.

In the quarter finals, Vaidisova will face No. 4 Jelena Jankovic, who beat Marion Bartoli of France 6-1, 6-1. Seventh-seeded Ana Ivanovic also advanced, beating No. 24 Anabel Medina Garrigues of Spain 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, and will next play Kuznetsova. On the men8217;s side, Guillermo Canas defeated Juan Monaco 6-0, 6-4, 6-2.

Paes-Shaughnessy duo through; Sania run ends

Paris: Leander Paes and Meghann Shaughnessy survived a scare but Sania Mirza and Fabrice Santoro were knocked out of the mixed doubles at the French Open here today.

Paes and American Shaughnessy played well in patches but just about managed to beat Marcin Matkowski of Poland and Sybille Bammer of Austria 6-2, 0-6, 10-8 to advance to the quarter finals. Sania and Santoro were not so lucky as Katernia Srebotnik of Slovakia and Nenad Zimonjic of Serbia snuffed out their late challenge to win 6-2, 7-6 1 in a second round tie. The defeat marked the end of Sania8217;s campaign at the clay-court Grand Slam. PTI

Important results Round Four

8226; Men: Nikolay Davydenko 4, Russia bt David Nalbandian 15, Argentina 6-3, 7-61, 3-6, 7-62; Guillermo Canas 19, Argentina bt Juan Monaco Argentina 6-0, 6-4, 6-2; Roger Federer 1, Switzerland bt Mikhail Youzhny 13, Russia 7-63, 6-4, 6-4, Tommy Robredo 9, Spain bt Filippo Volandri 29, Italy 6-2, 7-5, 6-1

8226; Women: Svetlana Kuznetsova 3, Russia bt Shahar Peer 15, Israel 6-4, 6-3; Maria Sharapova 2, Russia bt Patty Schnyder 14, Switzerland 3-6, 6-4, 9-7; Anna Chakvetadze 9, Russia bt Lucie Safarova 25, Czech Republic 6-4, 0-6, 6-2; Jelena Jankovic 4, Serbia bt Marion Bartoli 18, France 6-1, 6-1; Ana Ivanovic 7, Serbia bt Anabel Medina 24, Spain 6-3, 3-6, 6-3; Justine Henin 1, Belgium bt Sybille Bammer 20, Austria 6-2, 6-4; Serena Williams 8, US bt Dinara Safina 10, Russia 6-2, 6-3; Nicole Vaidisova 6, Czech Republic bt Tathiana Garbin 19, Italy 6-3, 6-1

NALBANDIAN DAVYDENKO

Aces 1 3

Double Faults 5 7

Unforced errors 55 63

Winners 12 14

Break points conversion 21 42