Wimbledon champion Maria Sharapova wasn't overly upset after she lost to Mary Pierce 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 in the US Open's third round on Saturday.
Sharapova's silver dress carried a plain black ribbon in memory of the more than 340 people, nearly half children, killed in a hostage-taking at a school in her native Russia.
"I lost today, but I still have to move on. It's not the end of the world," said Sharapova, who double-faulted 14 times and dropped the final five games. "There are a lot more important things in the world going on right now."
Given her almost perfect English, her all-grown-up strokes, and her poise on and off the court, it's easy to forget that Sharapova is just 17 and was born in Siberia.
If she hadn't flashed the tennis ability that prompted a move to Florida a decade ago, Sharapova might very well be just another teen readjusting to high school life this week, half a world away.
"The first of September is when so many kids go to school, the first day back. They go in with flowers and the whole family," she said. "Unfortunately, the terrorists decided to do something bad with those families and kids. It just shows that my loss is a little thing."
As far as tennis goes, though, her exit was the day's most significant development, more surprising than No. 3 Carlos Moya's 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-7 (5), 7-5 collapse against 100th-ranked Oliver Rochus of Belgium, at 1.65m the shortest ATP Tour regular.
Otherwise, the top players advanced in straight sets, including Justine Henin-Hardenne, Lindsay Davenport, Roger Federer and Andre Agassi.
Agassi's next opponent will be Sargis Sargsian, who erased a two-set deficit and saved two match points to beat Paul-Henri Mathieu of France 4-6, 4-6, 6-4, 6-2, 7-6 (4) in 4 hours, 41 minutes. Add in his second-round upset of No. 10 Nicolas Massu -- at 5:09, the second-longest match in tournament history -- and Sargsian broke the record for longest consecutive Open matches.
"I don't know how I did it," said Sargsian, an Armenian ranked 54th.
Often mistaken by security guards for a ball boy or a junior player, Rochus entered the tournament with a 76-101 career mark and an 0-4 Open record. That last fact prompted Moya to ask incredulously, "He never won?"
The Belgian knocked off No. 27 Mario Ancic, a Wimbledon semifinalist, in the first round, and can reach his first Grand Slam quarterfinal by beating No. 22 Dominik Hrbaty of Slovakia.
"That's why you don't underestimate anybody," said Agassi, a 6-4, 6-2, 6-3 winner over No. 25 Jiri Novak of the Czech Republic.
Moya won the 1998 French Open, but he's been a quarterfinalist at just three of his past 20 majors, and he was largely his own undoing on Saturday. He made 61 unforced errors, and double-faulted on match point.
When they met at the net, Rochus looked straight at the 1.91m Moya's chest. Moya patted Rochus' shoulder, as if offering kudos to a kid brother.
"It happens in tennis sometimes: You don't know why you play good," Rochus said.
Henin-Hardenne beat Lisa Raymond of the United States 6-4, 6-3, Davenport got past No. 26 Elena Bovina 7-6 (7), 6-2, and Federer's 6-0, 6-4, 7-6 (7) victory over No. 31 Fabrice Santoro put him in the round of 16 for the fourth straight year.
"The way he's playing now," Santoro cautioned, "he doesn't have to be scared of anyone."
But Federer's never been past the Open's fourth round. If he does reach the quarterfinals, his opponent could be Agassi, an eight-time major champion.
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