Maria Sharapova saved two match points on Sunday and advanced to the quarter-finals at the French Open by beating Patty Schnyder of Switzerland 3-6, 6-4, 9-7.
Schnyder served for the match three times, at 5-4, 6-5 and 7-6 in the third set. She was one point away from ending the match in the 10th game and again in the 14th -- and she was also two points away from victory on 11 occasions.
When the 14th-seeded Schnyder sailed a forehand wide to get broken again, Sharapova covered her face with both hands and looked on the verge of tears. As both players met at the net, there was a mix of boos and applause.
PHOTO: AP
"It's pretty hard being a tennis player and Mother Teresa at the same time," Sharapova said. "You're fighting for every single point out there."
The second-seeded Russian will next face No. 9 Anna Chakvetadze, who beat No. 25 Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic 6-4, 0-6, 6-2.
Sharapova pumped her fist and screamed encouragement to herself throughout the third set at Roland Garros.
In the 15th game, Sharapova won a disputed point when serving at 30-love. Schnyder watched the serve land in the box, but complained she wasn't ready.
The chair umpire ruled the point would count, giving Sharapova her first ace of the tournament.
"I only saw her hand up when I finished the serve," Sharapova said.
Schnyder said that she was distracted on that point, but then gave credit to the two-time Grand Slam champion for the comeback.
"At the end she was the big champion and I'm the little one who couldn't win," said Schnyder, whose best result at a major was reaching the 2004 Australian Open semi-finals.
Serena Williams and Justine Henin also won to set up a quarter-final showdown. Williams beat Dinara Safina of Russia 6-2, 6-3, while two-time defending champion Henin beat No. 20 Sybille Bammer of Austria 6-2, 6-4.
Roger Federer also advanced to the quarter-finals, beating No. 13 Mikhail Youzhny of Russia 7-6 (3), 6-4, 6-4. The top-ranked Swiss star tied the Open-era record for most consecutive sets won at Grand Slams, taking his streak to 35.
"I've got enough shirts for five-set matches in the bag," Federer said. "I only used one today."
Federer next faces No. 9 Tommy Robredo, who defeated No. 29 Filippo Volandri of Italy 6-2, 7-5, 6-1. Federer beat Robredo at the Australian Open.
Federer, trying to win his fourth consecutive major title and complete a career Grand Slam, also matched another Grand Slam mark with 11 straight-set victories in a row. John McEnroe set both records during Wimbledon and the US Open in 1984.
Federer hasn't lost a set at a major tournament since dropping the second set of last year's US Open final against Andy Roddick. He won the last two sets of that match, then won all seven of his matches at the Australian Open in January in straight sets -- becoming the first man to win a Grand Slam title without dropping a set since Bjorn Borg at the 1980 French Open.
"Maybe if I had won the first set, it would be something different," Youzhny said.
Third-seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova advanced by beating No. 15 Shahar Peer of Israel 6-4, 6-3, and No. 6 Nicole Vaidisova reached the quarter-finals by defeating No. 19 Tathiana Garbin of Italy 6-3, 6-1.
In the quarter-finals, Vaidisova will face No. 4 Jelena Jankovic, who beat Marion Bartoli of France 6-1, 6-1. Seventh-seeded Ana Ivanovic also advanced, beating No. 24 Anabel Medina Garrigues of Spain 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, and will next play Kuznetsova.
On the men's side, Guillermo Canas defeated Juan Monaco 6-0, 6-4, 6-2. Canas could meet Federer, a 10-time Grand Slam winner, in the semifinals.
Canas is scheduled to play against Nikolay Davydenko in the quarter-finals. The fourth-seeded Russian defeated No. 15 David Nalbandian of Argentina 6-3, 7-6 (1), 3-6, 7-6 (2).
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