TENNIS: There's a 17-year-old threatening to make a name for herself at Roland Garros. What's new about women's tennis? Maria Sharapova first came to attention because of her looks as much as her tennis. She's now delivering on the other end of the bargain.
While she detonated the hopes of Germany's Marlene Weingartner, her friend and compatriot Elena Dementieva was disposing of American fifth seed Lindsay Davenport. Two Russians on one side of the draw into the quarter-finals and another, Anastasia Myskina, on the other means that they now have the same number of players through as the Americans have - the two Williams and Jennifer Capriati.
Sharapova, though, has lived in the USA as long as she ever lived in Russia, having been scooped up by the coaching sharks when she was an adolescent. She speaks American English better than she does Russian and with an American accent. Apparently the grandparents aren't pleased.
"When ever I go back (to Russia) I always get that feeling that I'm back to earth. For some reason in America, I feel like some things are so make-believe and exaggerated," she said. "You go back to reality for some reason."
Sharapova came into this tournament playing well but occasionally too giddy to make a serious impact. Since last year she has come back with more patience and learned that the art of winning a clay court point is to go for the winner when the opportunity arises and not every time she hits the ball.
Weingartner presented little resistance in the eye of the storm. With Sharapova both stronger and livelier around court. The German simply crumbled 6-3, 6-1.
"Preferably, I like a faster court," she added. "But coming into this tournament, I knew I was playing good. I came here, like I come to every tournament, believing I can win. But you know, I really didn't expect to go this far. I'll keep the emotions until after the tournament because I know I've three more rounds."
Dementieva earned a quarterfinal match against French darling Amelie Mauresmo. Fifth seed Davenport, who had won her first three matches in straight sets, lost to Dementieva in straight sets, 6-1, 6-3.
Complaining of a problem in her knee, the three times Grand Slam winner and Olympic gold medallist could be one more long injury away from retirement. She has already had knee trouble and with the wet, slow courts, she was well off best form. "It was very heavy starting off the match, the type of day Americans don't like to play," she said.
That leaves the two Williams sisters on the other side of the draw to carry American hopes. Venus earned a hard-fought win over the battling Fabiolo Zugulaga 6-4, 7-6 (3), while Serena, seeded two, more comfortably swept aside the endeavours of Japan's Shinobu Asagoe 6-3, 6-1.
Venus now meets Myskina, who was forced to fight off two match points and play a third set against her compatriot Svetlana Kuznetlova. It is the first time three Russian players have been in the last eight at Roland Garros.
"I was really nervous in the beginning," said Myskina. "When we play against each other it is nervous. At the beginning of the match, I lost my rhythm and then I found it again later. I think I played better today than I did yesterday. I'll now look forward to playing against Venus. It will be completely different. But for me there is nothing to lose. It's my first quarter-final in the French open. I'm really happy the other (Russian) girls have played well here and I'm happy that we are not playing against each other."
That cannot be said for the big draw in the other quarter-final pairing between the two American seeds, Serena Williams and seventh-ranked Jennifer Capriati. Although Capriati picked up a thigh strain in her 7-5, 6-1 win over Italy's Francesca Schiavone, she will go into the next round knowing that the last time she met Williams in Rome three weeks ago at the Italian Open, she won the match in three sets. The cold weather in Paris yesterday didn't help Capriati's injury but it concentrated her mind to end the contest in two sets.
"I was looking ahead," she said afterwards. "If I'm going to win this match I want to win it now.
"I prefer to play someone like Serena than playing a real clay courter on clay. I feel that if I can keep the balls in play that will be important, the same thing I did in Rome."
French Open Results
MEN'S SINGLES: Third round: Xavier Malisse (Bel) bt (26) Albert Costa (Spa) 6-4 2-6 4-6 7-6 (7-4) 8-6.
Fourth round: (22) Juan Ignacio Chela (Arg) bt Olivier Mutis (Fra) 4-6 6-2 7-6 (7-5) 6-2, (3) Guillermo Coria (Arg) bt Nicolas Escude (Fra) 6-0 ret, (9) Tim Henman (Brit) bt Michael Llodra (Fra) 6-7 (2-7) 4-6 6-4 6-3 9-7, (5) Carlos Moya (Spa) bt (17) Tommy Robredo (Spa) 7-6 (10-8) 6-4 6-2,
WOMEN'S SINGLES: Fourth round: (9) Elena Dementieva (Rus) bt (5) Lindsay Davenport (USA) 6-1 6-3, (18) Maria Sharapova (Rus) bt Marlene Weingartner (Ger) 6-3 6-1, (3) Amelie Mauresmo (Fra) bt (21) Magdalena Maleeva (Bul) 6-2 6-1, (14) Paola Suarez (Arg) bt Jie Zheng (Chn) 6-4 7-5, (2) Serena Williams (USA) bt Shinobu Asagoe (Jpn) 6-3 6-1, (6) Anastasia Myskina (Rus) bt (11) Svetlana Kuznetsova (Rus) 1-6 6-4 8-6, (4) Venus Williams (USA) bt (23) Fabiola Zuluaga (Col) 6-1 7-6 (7-3), (7) Jennifer Capriati (USA) bt (17) Francesca Schiavone (Ita) 7-5 6-1.
MEN'S DOUBLES: Third round: (7) W Black (Zim) and K Ullyett (Zim) bt (11) J Erlich (Isr) and Andy Ram (Isr) 6-2 6-4, (3) M Bhupathi (Ind) and M Mirnyi (Blr) bt M Ancic (Cro) and I Ljubicic (Cro) 6-2 6-2, (1) B Bryan (USA) and M Bryan (USA) bt (14) F Cermak (Cze) and L Friedl (Cze) 6-1 6-2, K Braasch (Ger) and S Sargsian (Arm) bt M Fyrstenberg (Pol) and M Matkowski (Pol) 6-7 (5-7) 6-1 8-6, (4) M Knowles (Bah) and D Nestor (Can) bt Y Allegro (Swi) and M Kohlmann (Ger) 6-4 7-6 (7-3), (9) G Etlis (Arg) and M Rodriguez (Arg) bt A Peya (Aut) and R Wassen (Ned) 6-1 3-6 6-1, X Malisse (Bel) and O Rochus (Bel) bt (2) J Bjorkman (Swe) and T Woodbridge (Aus) 6-2 6-4.
WOMEN'S DOUBLES: Third round: (5) M Navratilova (USA) and L Raymond (USA) bt B Stewart (Aus) and S Stosur (Aus) 6-2 6-3.
