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Ljubicic ousts Nikolay Davydenko the results

Sharapova dominates her way past Karin Knapp

PARIS: Maria Sharapova saved her most piercing shriek to punctuate her final shot of the first set, a thunderous crosscourt backhand winner to close out a tiebreaker.

She then dominated the rest of the way on Saturday to beat Karin Knapp 7-6(4), 6-0 in the third round of the French Open.

Then Croatia’s Ivan Ljubicic reached the last 16 defeating fourth seed Nikolay Davydenko of Russia 4-6, 2-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4. The Croatian will play Gael Monfils of France for a place in the quarterfinals.

Roger Federer, beat Mario Ancic 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 to reach the fourth round.

Federer struggled at times in the first two rounds but quickly seized control against Ancic. Federer won all but 15 of the 71 points on his serve and was broken only once. He totaled 22 winners and had only 15 unforced errors.

The top-ranked Sharapova needed 81 minutes to win the opening set.

She squandered a lead and fell behind in the tiebreaker, then benefited from some shaky shots by Knapp.

Ferocious backhand

But beginning with that ferocious backhand, Sharapova played her best tennis of the week.

“It was like my twin sister was here, and then Maria actually made her flight and made it for the second set,” Sharapova said.

“I definitely became a lot more aggressive and stepped in and didn’t give her too many easy balls.”

The lone remaining American in either draw, Robby Ginepri, won again and became the first U.S. man to reach the fourth round at Roland Garros since Andre Agassi in 2003.

Ginepri extended his improbable run by beating Frenchman Florent Serra 6-4, 6-4, 6-4.

“I would definitely like to have a lot of the other Americans still in the tournament,” Ginepri said. “I’m really not trying to let that weigh on my shoulders.” Ranked 88th, Ginepri was steadier than Serra, losing serve just once and committing only 18 unforced errors to 43 for the Frenchman. Ginepri said he has benefited from the coaching of Jose Higueras and Diego Moyano.

“Talking with both of them has really opened up another door with me on the clay court,” Ginepri said. “Before I really had no clue how to construct points or what type of shots to hit when I was in trouble or how to serve, what sets up what. So with them having a lot of experience and just with me listening constantly, it’s just started being engraved into my mind.”

Ginepri will next play No. 24 Fernando Gonzalez, who outlasted No. 9 Stanislas Wawrinka 5-7, 2-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4.

The 16th-seeded Victoria Azarenka beat No. 18 Francesca Schiavone 6-1, 6-1 and has lost only six games in three matches this week.

Azarenka took advantage of Schiavone’s weak second serve, winning 23 of those 28 points.

Prefix denotes seeding

Men: Third round: 1-Roger Federer bt Mario Ancic 6-3, 6-4, 6-2; 21-Radek Stepanek (Cze) bt 12-Tommy Robredo (Esp) 6-3, 6-2, 6-1; 24-Fernando Gonzalez (Chi) bt 9-Stanislas Wawrinka (Sui) 5-7, 2-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4; 5-David Ferrer (Esp) bt 25-Lleyton Hewitt (Aus) 6-2, 3-6, 6-3, 3-6, 6-4; Robby Ginepri (USA) bt Florent Serra (Fra) 6-4, 6-4, 6-4; 28-Ivan Ljubicic (Cro) bt 4-Nikolay Davydenko (Rus) 4-6, 2-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4; Gael Monfils (Fra) bt Jurgen Melzer (Aut) 4-6, 7-5, 4-6, 6-0, 6-2.

Women: Third round: 1-Maria Sharapova (Rus) bt 32-Karin Knapp (Ita) 7-6(4), 6-0; 3-Jelena Jankovic (Srb) bt 28-Dominika Cibulkova (Svk) 7-5 6-3; 4-Svetlana Kuznetsova (Rus) bt 25-Nadia Petrova (Rus) 6-2, 6-1; 16-Victoria Azarenka (Blr) bt 18-Francesca Schiavone (Ita) 6-1, 6-1; 13-Dinara Safina (Rus) bt Zheng Jie (Chn) 6-2, 7-5; Kaia Kanepi (Est) bt 29-Anabel Medina Garrigues (Esp) 6-1, 6-7(5), 7-5; 11-Vera Zvonareva (Rus) bt Aleksandra Wozniak (Can) 6-2, 6-2; 7-Elena Dementieva (Rus) bt Olga Govortsova (Blr) 6-0, 6-4. — AP

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