Federer hobbles, Sharapova tumbles

Men’s top seed struggles past Frenchman Julien Benneteau winning 6-4 7-5 7-5, while women’s top seed goes down to Dinara Safina losing 7-6(8) 6-7(7) 2-6 in a thriller

PARIS: While men’s top seed Roger Federer had a tough time in his fourth round encounter against Frenchmen Julien Benneteau, it was not so lucky outing for women’s top seed Maria Sharapova, who lost in a three-set thriller to compatriot Dinara Safina in the French Open on Monday.

Federer set up a quarterfinal against old rival Fernando Gonzalez, but he was below par in a 6-4 7-5 7-5 win over Benneteau in a rain-hit tie. Sharapova blew away numerous chance to finish-off her match, including a match point in the second-set  against Safina, eventually losing 6-7(6-8) 7-6(7-5) 6-2.

The unseeded Benneteau had played more sets than any other player to get the last 16 (14) and he was not expected to pose any problems for the world No. 1 who won their only previous meeting in straight sets in Cincinnati last year.

But in each of the first two sets he broke Federer’s serve when trailing 3-5 only to lose both of them by 6-4 and 7-5. At that stage heavy rain brought an abrupt end to proceedings and it took ninety minutes before they got back onto a packed Philippe Chatrier Centre Court. With warm sunshine replacing the gloomy skies that marked the earlier action, Federer again went a break up to lead 3-1, but again Benneteau battled back to level at 3-3.

The Swiss maestro was finding it hard to put away his world-ranked 55th opponent, letting slip a match point at 5-4 up but two games later he finished it off with a smash at the net. Benneteau said it had been an “exceptional experience playing against Federer on the centre court. But I was always behind, that was the problem today and I had few opportunities.”

The 26-year-old Federer is bent on winning the only Grand Slam title that has eluded him having lost to Rafael Nadal here in the last three years, including the last two finals. He came into Paris after a poor season by his own high standards having lifted just one title at Estoril and losing seven times, twice to Nadal on clay.

Meanwhile, Safina's three-set win over Sharapova at the same stage in 2006 when she recovered from 1-5 down in the final set and it came in the most dramatic of circumstances. She wasted two set points in the opening tie-break, battled from 2-5 in the second set, saving a match point in the ninth game, before then recovering from 2-5 down in the second set tie-break.

Monday's famous victory was also Safina's third win in six career meetings against her fellow Russian and postponed, at least for another year, Sharapova's dreams of winning the only Grand Slam title to have eluded her “After my title this season in Berlin, this was one of my best matches and one of my best comebacks," said Safina, a quarter-finalist in 2006.

“I knew I could beat her but I put too much pressure on myself and was way too passive. I was too dependent on her and I was 2-5 down in the second set and facing a match point. But I hit a winner on her match point and it changed things. Before I was just running and playing the ball back. But I had to focus on myself and not wait for her mistakes and let her dictate. Maybe she went a little down but I went for it and for my shots.”

Big-hitting Gonzalez matched his best ever Roland Garros performance by defeating Ginepri 7-6(7) 6-3 6-1. The lone South American survivor in the tournament’s fourth round last got to the final eight in 2003 when he lost in five sets to eventual champion Juan Carlos Ferrero of Spain. Ginepri’s run to the last 16 had been entirely unexpected as he had lost in the first round in his five previous appearances.