Cibulkova crushes Sharapova

Cibulkova crushes Sharapova

Dominika Cibulkova will Dinara Safina for a place in the French Open final after thrashing Maria Sharapova 6-0 6-2.

The Slovakian 20th seed was in blistering form, making just a solitary unforced error in the first set, and belied the fact that she had never made it past round three at Roland Garros to simply blow Sharapova off the court.

Sharapova had been taken to three sets in each of her previous matches - having only returned in March this year after seven months out with a shoulder injury - and she seemed to run out of gas in the quarter-final on Suzanne Lenglen court.

The Russian had defeated her opponent in both their previous meetings, each of which came on clay last year, and towered almost a foot taller than the world number 19.

However, it was Cibulkova who made the big impression early on, breaking three times in succession to blitz Sharapova 6-0 in an opening set which lasted only half an hour.

Cibulkova was putting on a fine show in her first grand slam quarter-final and broke her bemused-looking adversary again in the opening game of the second set.

Two more breaks followed and the dreaded double-bagel was only averted when Sharapova finally got on the board in the 12th game of the match.

Pride was salvaged but the match was irretrievable, and Cibulkova served out at the next time of asking.

Earlier, Safina came from a set down to defeat 19-year-old Victoria Azarenka.

The Russian was given the runaround in the first set and was at one stage being held at 4-4 in the second, but recovered her poise to eke out a 1-6 6-4 6-2 victory on Philippe Chatrier court.

Ninth seed Azarenka, playing her first grand-slam quarter-final, had beaten Safina at Indian Wells earlier this year and had also won three titles in 2009, in Brisbane, Memphis and Miami.

She was therefore not overawed in the slightest and played an almost perfect first set, which lasted just 23 minutes.

Azarenka broke to 15 in the very first game and went 4-1 up when she grabbed a break on Safina's third service game.

The Belarussian was prospering under blue skies, her length and nagging consistency troubling Safina, who dropped her serve again in game seven to hand Azarenka the set.

Early in the second set, Safina suddenly found the form that had seen her lose just five games in her run to the quarters.

She broke in the third and fifth games, and would have been given further encouragement when Azarenka slammed her racquet down in disgust the moment she went 4-1 down.

The teenager fought back superbly to make it 4-4 but Safina rallied again to break and then hold to take the set.

Azarenka dropped serve in the first game of the third set and world number one Safina, who has yet to win a grand slam, finished the stronger to wrap up victory in an hour and 52 minutes

Soderling keeps dream alive

Soderling keeps dream alive

Robin Soderling continued his stunning run at the French Open with a straight-set victory over Nikolay Davydenko.

The 24-year-old Swede, seeded 23 at Roland Garros, recorded arguably the biggest upset in the tournament's history on Sunday by knocking out world number one and four-time defending champion Rafael Nadal.

And he was in equally imperious form again today to see off Davydenko 6-1 6-3 6-1 on Suzanne Lenglen court and claim his place in the semi-finals, where he will face either Andy Murray or Fernando Gonzalez.

Soderling played out of his skin in his first last-eight match at a grand slam to end Nadal's 31-match unbeaten streak on the Paris clay on Sunday, and continued in much the same vein today.

While some people expected his level to dip, he clearly had other ideas and produced another masterclass of mighty groundstrokes to triumph in just an hour and 41 minutes.

The world number 25 raced through the first set, breaking his Russian opponent twice to wrap it up 6-1 in just 23 minutes.

The second set was a much tighter affair, with the first six games going with serve.

But Soderling, who headed into today's contest buoyed by having beaten Davydenko in three of their five previous meetings including both times on clay, then took control.

He broke the world number 11 in game seven, survived a double fault in a hard-fought game to consolidate at 5-3 and then rounded off the set with a second break.

Davydenko also enjoyed an impressive victory on Sunday, albeit not such a high profile one, seeing off eighth seed Fernando Verdasco with a surprisingly comfortable 6-2 6-2 6-4 win.

But the shellshocked Russian was thoroughly outplayed today and hardly got a look-in in the third set.

He managed only one further game in the match - his first service game of what turned out to be the final set - as Soderling completed the obliteration.

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Davydenko was understandably disappointed to have picked up only five games over the three sets against an opponent he would have been expected to overcome at the start of the tournament.

"I don't know why but it's three times I've lost against him before. I didn't have my best game and that's surprising," he said.

"Maybe his tennis is too fast for me. He had very good control from the baseline."

The Russian denied he was getting ahead of himself and contemplating a place in the final, however.

"I was not thinking about the semi-final or final," he insisted. "Okay, it was not Nadal or (Novak) Djokovic I was playing, but Soderling played well."

Shock exit for Ana Ivanovic

Shock exit for Ana Ivanovic

Defending champion Ana Ivanovic crashed out of the French Open today as she lost in straight sets to Victoria Azarenko.

Eighth seed Ivanovic, who beat Safina in last year's final, stumbled to a 6-2 6-3 defeat to Belarus' Victoria Azarenka hours after the top seed had dropped just one game in her comprehensive thrashing of French hope Aravane Rezai.

Ivanovic admitted she did not feel 100% as her title defence ended on Suzanne Lenglen court.

"I started really well and felt good in the beginning but after the first point of the fourth game, I just started feeling so dizzy and I completely lost my balance," said the Serbian.

"After that, it was really hard. I struggled with looking up. But she played well."

Ivanovic tipped Azarenka, the ninth seed, as a contender for the crown but it is hard to look further than Safina, who she will meet next.

The Russian has dropped just five games in her remorseless march to the quarter-finals and was again in imperious form in her 6-1 6-0 triumph over Rezai.

"I'm feeling very good right now," said the world number one, who swept to victory in less than an hour on Philippe Chatrier court.

"I'm trying to be very professional and not waste energy. I think this is something new to me - before I would maybe just go out there and play and waste my energy.

"No free points, no stupid mistakes. I'm just playing point by point."

Rezai won last week's tournament in Strasbourg and had only dropped one set on the way to the fourth round, but she was powerless to prevent Safina easing to victory.

"I didn't feel helpless and I didn't think it was impossible to defeat her, but she is the world number one and she deserves that ranking," said the 22-year-old from St Etienne.

"I wasn't capable of finding the solutions to put her in a difficult position. I didn't play well."

Azarenka knows she will be up against it when she plays Safina on Tuesday.

"She has been killing people so far. I need to play my best tennis to beat her," she said.

Maria Sharapova fought back from 4-2 down in the third set to oust 25th seed Na Li and set up a last-eight meeting with Dominika Cibulkova.

Former world number one Sharapova, who has slipped to 102 in the rankings after a long spell out with shoulder trouble, won 6-4 0-6 6-4 over the Chinese, despite struggling with cramp to her left thigh in the latter stages.

Sharapova needs the Roland Garros crown to complete her haul of grand slam titles.

Twentieth seed Cibulkova was the first player into the last eight, the Slovakian a convincing 6-2 6-4 winner over 29th seed Agnes Szavay, who dumped out third seed Venus Williams in the previous round.

Cibulkova looked a bag of nerves as she clinched victory on her third match point to reach her first grand slam quarter-final.

"I got so tight because I wanted to win so badly," she said.

Djokovic: I have no excuses

Djokovic: I have no excuses

Novak Djokovic could offer no explanation for his shock third-round defeat to German Philipp Kohlschreiber in the French Open.

The fourth seeded Serbian was upset 6-4 6-4 6-4 by the 29th seed, who has never previously progressed past round two at Roland Garros.

Djokovic was installed by many as second favourite for the title, behind reigning four-time champion Rafael Nadal, given his impressive clay-court campaign this year, but was punished for an error-prone display on Court One.

The 22-year-old dubbed it "a bad day at the office", insisting tiredness was not a factor in his defeat.

"My first two matches went well and I felt good before this match," said Djokovic, who reached the semi-finals here for the last two years.

"Suddenly, it was a different story on the court. I can't really explain why.

"I was too passive and he played really solid. You have to give him credit for playing tactically smart. Unfortunately I had no solutions."

Djokovic, who played in four of the six tournaments prior to Roland Garros, added: "Mentally I'm a little bit exhausted but that's still not an explanation for my loss today.

"I'm one of the favourites to get far in the tournament. This cannot happen."

Kohlschreiber labelled his performance one of the best in his career in a big tournament.

"Everything came together," he said. "Maybe Novak didn't play his best today but every choice I made went on my side."

Kohlschreiber, whose best previous displays at a grand slam have been two last-16 appearances at the Australian Open, will play Spain's Tommy Robredo next. The 16th seed beat Argentina's Maximo Gonzalez 4-6 7-5 6-1 6-0.

Second seed Roger Federer was also in trouble early in his third round match but managed to turn things around to claim a 4-6 6-1 6-4 6-4 over Frenchman Paul-Henri Mathieu.

It was the second successive match in which Federer was taken to four sets, following on from his distinctly unimpressive display in his win over Jose Acasuso.

The Swiss recovered well, though, and can prepare for a last-16 clash with unseeded German Tommy Haas, a 7-5 6-3 4-6 6-4 winner over another Frenchman, Jeremy Chardy.

Andy Roddick had earlier put his Roland Garros demons behind him to finally make the fourth round.

The sixth seed posted a 6-1 6-4 6-4 victory over Frenchman Marc Gicquel on Suzanne Lenglen court to continue his terrific streak this week.

The American has gone out in the first round in his last two appearances here, in 2006 and 2007, but this week he is disproving the theory he is not a clay-court performer and has yet to drop a set in three matches.

"If you take away this tournament, I have a pretty good clay-court CV," said the 2003 US Open champion, whose best outing at Roland Garros had come in his opening visit, in 2001, when he made the third round.

"I certainly felt capable of making the second week of this event."

Roddick, the 2003 US Open champion and a three-time grand-slam runner-up, added: "I feel like I'm moving a little bit better on this stuff."

Gael Monfils, the 11th seed and a semi-finalist here last year, will be Roddick's next opponent after the Frenchman beat Jurgen Melzer 6-2 4-6 6-3 6-1.

Fifth seed Juan Martin del Potro advanced into the last 16 with an impressive straight-sets victory over Igor Andreev.

Away from the showcourts again today, Del Potro secured a 6-4 7-5 6-4 win on Court Two and will play ninth seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga next.

The popular Frenchman delighted the crowd on Philippe Chatrier court as he eased to a 6-2 6-2 6-2 rout of Belgium's Christophe Rochus.

Jankovic: I let myself down

Jankovic: I let myself down

Unseeded Romanian Sorana Cirstea produced the performance of her life to dump out fifth seed Jelena Jankovic at Roland Garros.

The 19-year-old had not made it past the second round of a grand slam prior to coming to Paris but she now has a great opportunity to make the semi-finals at Roland Garros thanks to her epic 3-6 6-0 9-7 win over Serbia's Jankovic on Suzanne Lenglen court.

The final stages of the encounter were tortuous for Cirstea, who needed three match points to finally get over the line as the tenacious Jankovic dug in.

The Serb admitted afterwards she had been struggling with abdomen and toe pains during the match, and rued her inability to kill off her opponent.

"I kind of let myself down in the second set - I should have won that game at 2-0," said the 24-year-old, a semi-finalist here in 2007 and 2008.

"And then in the third set, I served at 6-5 and I had 30-0 and that's when I should have gone more for my shots."

Reaching the quarter-finals is already a massive achievement for Cirstea but she will fancy her chances of going further.

She will next play Australian 30th seed Samantha Stosur, who thrashed French hope Virginie Razzano 6-1 6-2.

Razzano was one of 19 Frenchwomen to make the main draw but none have qualified for the last eight.

Meanwhile, second seed Serena Williams is bracing herself for a testing quarter-final against in-form Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova after easing through her fourth-round match against Aleksandra Wozniak.

The American needed just 53 minutes to record a 6-1 6-2 win on Philippe Chatrier court.

Kuznetsova, the seventh seed, found things more tricky in her triumph against Poland's Agnieszka Radwanska but the set she lost in the 6-4 1-6 6-1 victory was only the first the Russian had dropped this tournament.

Kuznetsova is also the only woman to defeat world number one Dinara Safina on clay this year.

Williams said: "She's an excellent clay-court player. She's been playing unbelievably well.

"This is when everything counts. I have to pick up my level and play a strong match, especially when playing somebody like Svetlana, who moves extremely well and doesn't do anything bad."

Williams, the 2002 champion here, had a real battle against Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez in the third round, coming through in three tight sets.

But she found it much easier here, breaking in games two and six to take the first set comfortably.

Wozniak, the 24th seed, did manage a break herself, in the sixth game of the second set. But that was as good as it got for the Canadian.

"I feel like it was my most focused match so far," Williams said.

Kuznetsova survived a mid-match wobble to defeat Radwanska, the 12th seed.

"I was really nervous today - I don't know why," said Kuznetsova.

"It was tough mentally. In the next match, I cannot allow myself to do this. I'll have to be more prepared."

Kuznetsova lost to Williams in the quarter-finals of the Australian Open earlier this year, and the American has won 10 majors in total down the years.

"Maybe she hasn't played that many tournaments on clay, but you cannot discount her," said Kuznetsova.

"She's a big champion, she's won here and definitely knows how to play on clay."

Nadal: Federer is the favourite

Nadal: Federer is the favourite

Despite Andy Murray's smooth progress to the French Open quarters, Nadal still thinks Federer is the title favorite.

There will be a new name on the trophy this year following Nadal's shock defeat by Sweden's Robin Soderling in the fourth round yesterday.

It has left the door ajar for Murray, who is in Nadal's half of the draw, to stake a serious claim for a first grand slam title of his career, but the Spaniard believes there are other candidates more likely to be his successor.

"(Roger) Federer is the favourite, in my opinion," said the Mallorcan, who was bidding to win in Paris for the fifth year running.

"That would be great. He's tried to win it for many years and he was very unfortunate to lose three finals and one semi-final (all to Nadal).

"If one guy deserves it, it's him. There is also (Nikolay) Davydenko. (Juan Martin) Del Potro is there I think. We will see."

Murray's name was conspicuous by its absence but the Scot certainly has a great chance now.

The third seed set up a quarter-final meeting with Chile's Fernando Gonzalez thanks to yesterday's straight-sets win over Marin Cilic.

Gonzalez, the 12th seed, earned his place in the last eight by hitting 50 winners in a 6-2 6-4 6-2 victory over beleaguered 30th seed Victor Hanescu.

Murray became the third British man, after Roger Taylor in 1973 and Tim Henman in 2004, to reach this stage at Roland Garros.

"Every time you do something like that, it's nice," said Murray.

"Tim obviously made the semis here so it would nice to try and match that.

"I always felt I could play well on clay."

Murray is scheduled to play Gonzalez tomorrow. They have met each other twice before, the Briton winning in the third round of the US Open in 2006 and the South American triumphing in Basle in 2005.

Second seed Federer, who needs to win the French Open to complete his set of grand slam titles and join Pete Sampras on 14 major wins, takes on unseeded Tommy Haas today.

It was a bad day for the reigning champions all round yesterday - Ana Ivanovic was dumped out of the women's singles in straight sets by Victoria Azarenka.

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