Sabatini, Chesnokov Join the Ranks of Top Seeds Stumbling in France

The French Open, already bereft of half a dozen top tennis players through early round upsets, lost another glamour player today when fourth-seeded Gabriela Sabatini was upset by 11th-seeded Jana Novotna of Czechoslovakia 6-4, 7-5.

It was the second year in a row that the 20-year-old Argentine was eliminated in the fourth round at the French and the second year in a row that Novotna has reached the quarters here.

Also out was men’s eighth seed Andrei Chesnokov, beaten in an emotional roller-coaster match on center court by Frenchman Henri Leconte. The 1988 runner-up, who needed a wild card to get into the tournament, held on for a 6-4, 6-3, 4-6, 2-6, 6-3 victory.

He goes in the quarters against another unseeded player, Jonas Svensson, who upset 15th-seeded Guillermo Perez-Roldan 2-6, 6-4, 6-2, 6-2.

The defeats of Chesnokov and Perez-Roldan left Americans Michael Chang and Andre Agassi as the only seeded players in their half of the draw. They meet in the quarters.

Monica Seles was on her game today, playing near-perfect tennis over the final 11 games to breeze past Laura Gildemeister and into the quarterfinals.

Down 1-4 in the first set and having trouble controlling her two-fisted shots, the 16-year-old second seed suddenly seemed invincible as she put Gildemeister away 6-4, 6-0.

Sabatini is one of the biggest names in tennis but has reached just one Grand Slam final and never has won one. Her frustration continued on the Paris clay.

Novotna eased through the first set and was up 2-0 in the second when she twisted her left ankle. After courtside treatment, the Czech broke for 3-0 and went up 4-0 on serve.

Sabatini saved two match points in the seventh game and started a mini-comeback, breaking for 5-3 and 5-5. But Novotna broke back for 6-5 and, after saving a break point with a forehand winner, won the match when a Sabatini backhand hit the letcord.

“I played my best match of the year. I played very smartly,” Novotna said. “Today I felt stronger on the important points.”

The Czech also said Sabatini let up a bit when she thought her opponent was hurt. Sabatini, who has been questioned in the past for her mental toughness, said she never tried to ease the pressure.

“When I am in that position, I try to move the player and find the right angles,” she said. “I think it was a bad day for me. I don’t think I should lose to her. It is a very big upset because I thought I was going to do much better in this tournament.”

Leconte pulled off perhaps the biggest upset since the first-round eliminations of top seeds Stefan Edberg and Boris Becker. Chesnokov was a legitimate contender for the title and Leconte was lucky to be here at all, his ranking slipping to 161st in the world earlier this spring.