France’s Mauresmo upset at French Open
Henin-Hardenne barely avoids being eliminated
 | France's Amelie Mauresmo, right, congratulates Serbia's Ana Ivanovic after the third seed was upset in three sets at the French Open on Saturday. |
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PARIS - Amelie Mauresmo was upset by 17-year-old Ana Ivanovic during the third round of the French Open.
The third seed struggled throughout the match Saturday before losing 6-4, 3-6, 6-4.
It was another Roland Garros meltdown for Mauresmo, who has never advanced beyond the quarterfinals in 11 tries. Mauresmo lost the final game at love and double-faulted on match point.
Meanwhile, Justine Henin-Hardenne nearly was another upset victim.
The Belgian fell behind 5-0 before rallying to beat Anabel Medina Garrigues 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 Saturday. Henin-Hardenne needed 26 minutes just to capture a game, then found the range with a wide array of shots, seized an early lead in the final set and held her final four service games.
Henin-Hardenne, seeded 10th, improved to 23-1 since returning in March from a seven-month layoff because of a blood virus and knee injury. She has won 20 consecutive matches, all on clay.
“I had a lot of difficulties at the beginning, but that’s because my opponent was so good,” Henin-Hardenne said. “This was one of my best matches in recent times. She didn’t give away anything. This type of match is very satisfying, because you really need to go for it.”
The 2003 champion’s opponent Sunday will be reigning U.S. Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova, who beat American Marissa Irvin 6-1, 2-6, 6-0. That result left top-ranked Lindsay Davenport as the lone remaining American, male or female, among the 22 who entered the tournament.
“I think a lot of it for Americans is just embracing being on the clay and not fighting it,” Irvin said. “I think Americans don’t expect as much out of themselves when they come over here.”
Maria Sharapova had Anna Chakvetadze pounding the clay with her racket in frustration — and that was just two games into their match. Taking charge from the start, Sharapova won a duel of 18-year-old Russians, 6-1, 6-4.
Sharapova, seeded second, is seeking her first Roland Garros title and trying to overtake Davenport to claim the No. 1 ranking for the first time.
Three other Russian women also advanced — No. 6-seeded Kuznetsova, No. 7 Nadia Petrova and No. 12 Elena Bovina.
Playing in the Court 1 stadium known as the bullring, Henin-Hardenne needed 2 hours, 17 minutes on a sunny, 82-degree afternoon to finish off Spaniard Medina Garrigues.
“I was feeling in great shape even at the end of the match,” Henin-Hardenne said. “I still had some energy left.”
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Clive Mason / Getty Images Justine Henin-Hardenne returns a shot against Spain's Anabel Medina Garrigues during Saturday's play at French Open. Henin-Hardenne won 4-6, 6-2, 6-3. |
Henin-Hardenne showed little evidence of the back injury that has hampered her in recent weeks, although she did hit six double-faults, increasing her tournament total to 23. She totaled 58 errors but also hit 45 winners to just 16 for Medina Garrigues.
Henin-Hardenne has beaten Spaniards on their best surface in all three matches this week.
“That wasn’t easy,” she said. “What’s coming isn’t easy, either.”
Medina Garrigues hit perhaps the shot of the tournament — and still lost the point. Moving to her right when Henin-Hardenne hit a slam down the middle, Medina Garrigues braked and managed a lob by hitting the ball behind her back. Henin-Hardenne then put away a difficult backhand overhead for the point, prompting a rueful smile by the Spaniard.
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