Venus Lamely Dismissed at French Open

"(The) shoulder is fine. I have no pain at all," Moya said. "The thing is that the muscles around the shoulder are working too much trying to avoid the shoulder to work. So they do more effort than they used to do. So that's what I've been told. I feel like I have no power left when I hit few forehands. Or also with my serve, it was tough for me to serve hard. But besides that, if I could have won in straight sets, so the match was okay."

Moya will next face Federer.

In the only all-unseeded match on the day, Romania's Victor Hanescu rolled Luis Horna in straight sets.

On court Saturday at Roland Garros are (32) Ferrero vs. (3) Safin, (9) Canas vs. Mathieu, (21) Haas vs. (12) Davydenko, (8) Guillermo "El Mago" Coria vs. Jurgen "Tuna" Melzer, (15) Robredo vs. D.Sanchez in an all-Spanish, (28) Kiefer vs. Andreev, Puerta vs. Wawrinka, and out on Court 7, (27) Volandri vs. Acasuso.

Venus Sets; Davenport, Dementieva Escape at French Open

World No. 1 Lindsay Davenport won her third consecutive three-set match on her least-favorite surface Friday at the French Open, defeating former Roland Garros junior champ Virginie Razzano 7-5, 4-6, 6-4 to advance to the fourth round of play.

"Obviously it's not ideal," Davenport said. "I mean, every match has gone three sets. I've struggled in all of them. But I'm starting to think that it could be one of my -- not best but one of my greatest achievements in a while just to be able to still be here and still be playing."

Davenport's next opponent will be one she struggles regularly to beat in Kim Clijsters.

"I have a tough time playing her on my favorite surface let alone my less favorite, on clay," Davenport said. "You know, hopefully things start to click at some point and I feel a little bit better about my ball control. Who knows? I mean, she is a great player. She gives me all sorts of trouble with how she plays. I'm going to have to try and play a lot better and do some things differently."

Precocious Bulgarian teen Sesil Karatantcheva stunned No. 11 seed Venus Williams 6-1 in the third for her biggest pro win.

"I think she played well, definitely, but I also felt like, if I just played 10 percent better, I'm going to win this match easy," said Venus in typical Williams' sister graciousness.

After beating sister Serena earlier this year, Venus seemed to regain her fire and even said a return to the No. 1 ranking was a "given," but after the loss to Karatantcheva the elder Williams sister showed she is far from the hungry player who once reigned at the top spot on the WTA Tour Rankings.

"It's fairly disappointing," said Venus, who dropped serve an amazing nine times. "I'm ready to leave. I have nothing else to do here -- no doubles, no mixed. I'm just ready to go."

In the third set Karatantcheva ran to a 5-0 lead before closing it out 6-1.

"I feel like, you know, I'm a great player," said Venus, who inexplicably did her best to look disinterested at many key points during the match. "This is just not the best result for me right now."

The outspoken Karatantcheva, ranked No. 98, says her 'Id' was surprised by the win, but her 'Ego' was not.

"It seems like a dream for me, you know, just kind of feeling what it's like to really have a win over a great player," Karatantcheva said. "But in a way it's not because, I mean, I have such big goals that I probably would be a bit disappointed if I lost."

Another three-set winner was defending runner-up Elena Dementieva, who dropped the middle set against Japan's Akiko Morigami before recovering in the third.

No. 14 seed Kim Clijsters, who has been in punishing form even though entering Roland Garros with a knee injury, again advanced with a straight set win, defeating No. 20 Daniela Hantuchova.

"At the moment, I'm not saying I'm feeling great out there, like I did in Indian Wells or Miami," Clijsters said. "But, you know, I'm working my way into my matches, and I'm winning them. I haven't lost a set yet, so I'm not complaining."

Other seeded players into the fourth round were (8) Patty Schnyder (d. (32) Pennetta from a set down), (16) Elena Likhovtseva (d. (18) Farina Elia), and (21) Mary Pierce (d. (9) Zvonareva).

One match was halted due to darkness, with Emilie Loit and Emmanuelle Gagliardi tied at one-set all.

Scheduled Saturday for the women are (17) Tatiana "Hot Pants" Golovin vs. (12) Bovina, (3) Mauresmo vs. (29) Ivanovic, (2) Sharapova vs. Chakvetadze, (13) Dechy vs. Llagostera Vives, (6) Kuznetsova vs. Irvin, (10) Henin-Hardenne vs. Anabel "Funky Cold" Medina Garrigues, (22) Schiavone vs. Groenefeld, and (7) Petrova vs. Peer.

X-CORRECT
The stat for Andy Roddick not having a Top 10 win in 2005 was according to his opponent's standings on the ATP Race standings. And we have no idea why the interns are basing anything on the Race standings.

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TENNIS-X NEWS, NOTES, QUOTES AND BARBS
Rafael Nadal upped his win streak to 20 after overwhelming French hope and fellow 18-year-old Richard Gasquet...Roger Federer has won his last 22 sets...Sesil Karatantcheva has never lost a match at Roland Garros (9-0). Figure that out...David Ferrer has reached his first Grand Slam fourth round...Lindsay Davenport is quite familiar with Slam fourth rounds. Look up the last time she didn't reach one...With Fernando Gonzalez out of the way and Carlos Moya injured, Roger Federer will have to beat David Nalbandian to set up a showdown with Rafael Nadal in the semifinals. Federer has lost five of seven against Nalbandian, but with the weather turning cooler and wetter starting Sunday, Federer should get through...Did anyone catch Rafael Nadal running unaccompanied around the grounds outside Chatrier about 45 minutes before his showdown with Gasquet? That kid is loose...Maria Sharapova's three opponents thus far are all making their Roland Garros debuts this week. Nice draw...Weather for Saturday: A bit cooler, with rain expected on Sunday and further cooling for the rest of the week...Elena Dementieva served a whopping 17 doubles faults in her last match...Carlos Moya has now beaten countryman Fernando Vicente 12 consecutive times...Carlos Moya, not too happy when he toughs out a five-setter and the first couple questions in his post-match conference are about Rafael Nadal: "Yeah, he's like a kid. He's 18 years old. You don't feel that on court, but of course, he shows that. So that's all what I can say about him."...Lindsay Davenport on having a good time in Paris: "I mean, ironically, I've had the greatest time here since I've been here. I've had a really fun time. I've got friends here. We've been going out and stuff. Normally that translates into playing well. It quite hasn't happened. You know, I'm going to work on some things, and hopefully it gets better. You know, I feel like I'm better now than I was when I got here a week ago, but that still wasn't the level that I wanted to come into this tournament to be playing at. You know, there's a lot to be said for winning matches that when you don't play well, and maybe you shouldn't win, that hopefully -- even if it doesn't mean at this tournament, I mean, it's got to help me down the line, just being able to win some of these and feel good about myself in that regard."...Roger Federer doesn't like being asked about being tested by opponents: "I don't need no more tests, you know. I don't know what tests you want me to do. One five-setter, one quick one, one quick set, one long set, you know. One tiebreak. It's not going to make any difference as long as you win, you know."...Roger Federer on facing Carlos Moya next: "It will be interesting. He's a great champion. I appreciate him very much. I don't think he'll be in much fitness trouble, even after his five sets today. He has too much experience with that type of match. I was surprised that he went to five sets. He had some difficulty in his recent matches. This might show that he isn't feeling as fit as the previous years. But that doesn't mean anything. He's won this tournament before; he knows how to do it. Obviously, it's going to be tough." Moya on the other hand is suddenly of the opinion that his backhand has become a weapon? "My backhand could put (Federer) into trouble. It's difficult to move him from the baseline, so I think that I need a fast court. With a bit of luck, we have a day like today with heat."...Rafael Nadal is for players getting access to instant replay during a match: "I think it's a novelty. It's interesting to be able to ask the linesmen to show me what happened exactly. I think it can be an interesting innovation. But I think it's also possible that you can only do it three times during a set, because otherwise we'd be doing it all the time."...Richard Gasquet, feeling like a junior against Rafael Nadal: "I think he's much more mature than I am physically. I haven't worked so much on my physical shape. We are the same age and I feel like a junior player and he's like a senior player. He is there 100 percent physically, which is not my case. I am not ready for such a situation." Damn kid, get in shape, wilting in three sets? That's weak...Richard Gasquet says look for him during the grasscourt season: "Yes, no problem. It's a good surface for me. I can serve, volley. I can play on grass very well, just as well as on clay. It's well adjusted to my game." News to us...Venus Williams says she will play no grasscourt warm-up tournaments prior to Wimbledon -- nice. Way to guarantee you will enter the event "tournament tough." Time to hire a coach to kick you in the ass a couple times a day...Greg Rusedski is the top seed at next week's Surbiton Challenger...Roger Federer has been named the first United Nations spokesperson for the International Year of Sport and Physical Education, which makes him an official phys. ed. teacher...So what is your bet concerning the matches that NBC will show in the U.S. on Saturday? Some tape of Maria Shriek-apova, and maybe the last few points of the Juan Carlos Ferrero-Marat Safin match?...JCF has beaten Marat Safin in four of their last five meetings.