Maria Sharapova's collapse was a shocker, while Amelie Mauresmo's meltdown was all too familiar.
Both losses make the road to a French Open title a bit easier for Venus Williams, the last remaining American.
"Lone flag waving gently in the wind," Williams said.
Sharapova squandered a 5-1 lead in the final set, lost 18 of the final 21 points and was beaten by Dinara Safina 7-5, 2-6, 7-5 in the fourth round Sunday.
Mauresmo lost to Nicole Vaidisova, 6-7 (5), 6-1, 6-2. Vaidisova, seeded 16th, next faces the No. 11-seeded Williams, who advanced to the quarterfinals when she won the final four games to beat No. 7 Patty Schnyder 4-6, 6-3, 6-2.
Williams committed 19 unforced errors in the first set, then totaled 16 in the last two. The reigning Wimbledon champion is making her 10th try at a French Open title.
The last American in the men's draw, No. 8 James Blake, lost to No. 25 Gael Monfils 6-2, 6-7 (2), 7-6 (1), 5-7, 6-4. The third-round match had been suspended after two sets Saturday because of darkness.
The top-ranked Mauresmo won her first major title at the Australian Open in January, but she has yet to make the semifinals at Roland Garros in 12 appearances.
"I wasn't able to keep up my end of the bargain," Mauresmo said.
Vaidisova sank to her knees after smacking the last of her 38 winners on match point. She and Safina earned their first berth in a Grand Slam quarterfinal.
Top-ranked Roger Federer, seeking his fourth consecutive major title, advanced to the quarterfinals by beating No. 20 Tomas Berdych 6-3, 6-2, 6-3. Croats Ivan Ljubicic and Mario Ancic also won, as did two-time champion Justine Henin-Hardenne, two-time runner-up Kim Clijsters and former US Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova on the women's side.
Henin-Hardenne, seeded fifth, beat 2004 champion Anastasia Myskina 6-1, 6-4. The Belgian's opponent Tuesday will be No. 13 Anna-Lena Groenefeld, who became the third first-time Grand Slam quarterfinalist on the women's side when she beat No. 32 Gisela Dulko 6-3, 6-4.
No. 10 Gaston Gaudio, the 2004 champion, was eliminated by No. 6 Nikolay Davydenko, 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3. Davydenko will next play No. 3 David Nalbandian, who swept qualifier Martin Vassallo Arguello 6-4, 6-4, 6-4.
Safina will next play another Russian, the No. 8-seeded Kuznetsova, who rallied past No. 9 Francesca Schiavone 1-6, 6-4, 6-4.
Blake blew an easy volley to lose serve in the next-to-last game against Frenchman Monfils, who then closed the victory to the delight of a partisan crowd on Court 1.
The No. 4-seeded Ljubicic needed only two games to close a victory over Juan Monaco, 4-6, 5-7, 6-3, 6-4, 6-2. Their match was suspended Saturday with Ljubicic leading 4-2 in the final set.
Federer will next play the No. 12-seeded Ancic, who reached the Roland Garros quarterfinals for the first time by beating No. 7 Tommy Robredo 6-4, 4-6, 2-6, 6-4, 7-5.
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