Mauresmo Wobbles, Federer Picking Up Steam at French Open

"I thought that would be a tough match because he's a very good player," said Nalbandian of Gasquet, who has been suffering elbow tendonitis. "Doesn't matter if I beat him twice. He's young, he's tough, he's strong. I think he played a good match in the beginning. Then was so windy, so difficult to play. But I think I played good in the end, and that's good."

Other seeded winners were (12) Mario Ancic (d. Capdeville), (13) Nicolas Kiefer (d. Gicquel 11-9 in the fifth), (20) Tomas Berdych (d. Volandri), (24) Juan Carlos Ferrero (d. Kohlschreiber), (30) Carlos Moya (d. Youzhny), and (32) Massu (d. Mirnyi).

The former champ Moya will next face last year's semifinalist Davydenko.

"He's a better player today than when I played him the four previous times," said Moya of the Russian. "He's in the Top 10 now. He is a rival that will be difficult to beat. He's a solid player. He serves very hard. He runs a lot. There was the match in Estoril, three sets, where I had opportunities but ended up losing the match. I'm happy with the two matches that I've won. I'm going to have to think about how winning the match against Davydenko will go."

Kiefer's match went almost five hours after the German almost blew a 2-0 set lead.

"I prefer to make it easier," Kiefer said. "But, no, was not easy. I mean, I started very good. I played unbelievably great tennis first two sets. Came out a little slow in the third set. He played much better. At the end of the day, it counts a win, what's on the paper. A win is a win. I know I had a tough match like this a few matches in Melbourne also. I would prefer to save some energy."

Ancic and Capdeville got into a shoving match as they approached the chair umpire after their match, apparently a misunderstanding that was resolved in the lockerroom.

"The chair umpire favored him all the way," Capdeville said. "I was just criticizing the chair umpire, so I don't understand why he reacted this way."

Czech Lukas Dlouhy delivered the shocker of the day, ousting (26) Jose Acasuso 4-6, 7-6(2), 6-3, 6-1.

Winners in all-unseeded matches were Spaniard Albert Montanes (d. Galvani in five) and Dutchman Raemon Sluiter (d. N.Lapentti).

Matches called due to darkness were (7) Tommy Robredo leading Ilia Bozoljac 7-5, 6-2, 1-3; (21) Sebastien Grosjean leading Martin Vassallo Arguello 6-1, 4-6, 6-4; and (31) Dmitry Tursunov leading Tim Henman 6-3, 6-2.

Highlights of Thursday play at Roland Garros include (2) Nadal vs. K.Kim, (4) Ljubicic vs. O.Hernandez, (8) Blake vs. Almagro, (14) Hewitt vs. the Frenchman Montcourt, (15) Ferrer vs. the Frenchman Chardy, (29) Mathieu vs. Serra in an all-French, (25) Gael "Force" Monfils vs. Norman, (19) Baghdatis vs. Julien "United Colors of" Benneteau, (23) Haas vs. Waske in an all-German, (9) Fernando "Gonzo" Gonzalez vs. Djokovic, (28) Fernando "Hot Sauce" Verdasco vs. Juan "The Principality" Monaco, and (22) Dominik "The Dominator" Hrbaty vs. "Dr." Ivo Karlovic.

Sharapova Looks Sharper, Mauresmo Wobbles at French Open

No. 4 seed Maria Sharapova, on the verge of defeat in the first round with a twisted ankle, looked on more solid footing Wednesday with a dominant 6-4, 6-1 win over Czech Iveta Benesova to advance into third-round play.

"It was a lot better than my previous match," said Sharapova of the ankle injury that has still not healed since March in Miami. "I didn't feel like I was moving great still, being cautious with the tape on, but pain-wise it felt a lot better."

On Wednesday it was top-seeded Amelie Mauresmo's turn to struggle, with her opponent Vera Dushevina serving for the second set at 5-4 and 6-5 before the Frenchwoman prevailed 6-1, 7-6(5).

"The Frenchwoman rushed the net to force the outcome and quietened the Russian on her fourth match point after she sailed a forehand wide," detailed the official Roland Garros website.

Quietened?

"It was great to play today despite the conditions but I reckon I struggled with my tennis," Mauresmo said.

Other seeded winners into the third round were (7) Patty Schnyder (d. Gajdosova), (8) Svetlana Kuznetsova (d. Santangelo), (9) Francesca Schiavone (d. Muller), (11) Venus Williams (d. Laine), (14) Dinara Safina (d. Sromova, bagel in the first), (16) Nicole Vaidisova (d. Sun), (17) Flavia Pennetta (d. Flipkens 1-and-0), and (24) Katarina Srebotnik (d. Harkleroad).

Orchestrating upsets were France's Aravane Rezai (d. (22) Sugiyama from a set down), Serb Jelena Jankovic (d. (25) Bartoli 6-1 in the third), China's Na Li (d. (27) Chakvetadze), and the Ukraine's Julia Vakulenko (d. (29) Arvidsson).

Winners in all-unseeded match-ups were Aussie Alicia Molik (d. Perianu from a set down), Croat Karolina Sprem (d. Peng who retired with injury), and another unseeded Frenchwoman in 16-year-old Alize Cornet (d. Ruano Pascual 6-1 in the third).

Highlights of Thursday play include (2) Clijsters vs. Martinez Granados, the defending champ (5) Henin-Hardenne vs. Yakimova, (6) Dementieva vs. Kutuzova, (10) Myskina vs. Czink, (11) Hingis vs. Ondraskova, (13) Groenefeld vs. J.Jackson, (15) Hantuchova vs. Gagliardi, (19) Ivanovic vs. the Frenchwoman Loit, (20) Kirilenko vs. the Frenchwoman Johansson, (21) Dechy vs. Castano, (31) Peer vs. Pironkova, and in doubles the all-Navratilova match-up in (7) Huber/M.Navratilova vs. G.Navratilova/Pastikova.

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