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Kuznetsova, Kanepi advance in French Open
2008-06-03
Svetlana Kuznetsova advanced to the French Open quarterfinals for the third year in a row Tuesday by completing a fourth-round victory over Victoria Azarenka, 6-2, 6-3. Kuznetsova's opponent Wednesday will be Kaia Kanepi, who became the first Estonian to reach the quarterfinals at a Grand Slam tournament by beating Petra Kvitova 6-3, 3-6, 6-1. Kanepi and Kuznetsova won matches suspended Monday because of darkness. Kanepi, ranked 49th, began the tournament with a lifetime Grand Slam record of 5-8. She beat two seeded players -- No. 6 Anna Chakvetadze and No. 29 Anabel Medina Garrigues -- en route to the final eight. The No. 4-seeded Kuznetsova hit 10 aces against the No. 16-seeded Azarenka, a Belarussian who lives in Scottsdale, Ariz. Azarenka was 0-for-7 on break-point chances, all in the first set. Kuznetsova has lost only 19 games in four rounds, sweeping every set. The big-hitting Russian won the 2004 U.S. Open and was runner-up to Justine Henin at Roland Garros in 2006. In the other women's quarterfinal Wednesday, No. 13-seeded Dinara Safina will try to build on her upset victory Monday against top-ranked Maria Sharapova. Safina overcame deficits of 5-2 in the second set and 5-2 in the second tiebreaker to win 6-7 (6), 7-6 (5), 6-2. Sharapova, stymied again at the only major tournament she has yet to win, lost the final four games and 10 of the last 12 points. "It was all in her hands," Safina said. "Then suddenly it changed." Safina, the younger sister of two-time Grand Slam champion Marat Safin, received a congratulatory text from her brother and said she hopes to join him as the winner of a major title. "A dream of all our family," she said. "Once we do this, we can put the racket on the wall and say we did everything we could." Safina will next play No. 7 Elena Dementieva, who won another all-Russian matchup against No. 11 Vera Zvonareva, 6-4, 1-6, 6-2. On the men's side, Fernando Gonzalez has beaten Roger Federer only once in 11 tries entering their quarterfinal match Wednesday -- but that was in their most recent meeting. "For me it's an interesting match, because last time we played I lost," Federer said. "I hope I can turn it around again in my favor this time." The No. 24-seeded Gonzalez won't catch Federer looking ahead, but that would be unlikely anyway with the world's top-ranked player only three wins from his first Roland Garros title. On Monday, Federer reached the final eight for the 16th Grand Slam in a row by beating Julien Benneteau of France 6-4, 7-5, 7-5. "I hope it's going to go my way this time," Federer said. "All in all, I'm very happy with the way I'm playing." He lost in the semifinals in 2005 and in the final in 2006 and 2007, each time to Rafael Nadal. He's in the easier half of the draw and could face Nadal on Sunday. "Obviously I'm the favorite in this section, so I hope I can make it through to the final," Federer said. "But I'm not there yet, so I have to be very careful with Gonzalez. ... He was born on clay, more or less." Gonzalez is 16-0 this year on clay, although he withdrew before the third round in Rome because of a hamstring injury. On Monday he ended Robby Ginepri's surprising run at Roland Garros, 7-6 (4), 6-3, 6-1. Ginepri was the last American in either singles draw. Also advancing was No. 5 David Ferrer, who improved to 8-1 in five-set matches by beating No. 21 Radek Stepanek 4-6, 6-2, 1-6, 6-3, 6-3. Ferrer's opponent Wednesday will be unseeded Gael Monfils, the only French player remaining. He defeated No. 28 Ivan Ljubicic 7-6 (1), 4-6, 6-3, 6-2. The other quarterfinals were scheduled for Tuesday. On the men's side, three-time defending champion Nadal faced No. 19 Nicolas Almagro, and No. 3 Novak Djokovic playing 19-year-old Ernests Gulbis. In women's play, No. 2 Ana Ivanovic met No. 10 Patty Schnyder, and No. 3 Jelena Jankovic faced unseeded Carla Suarez Navarro.
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