Shaughnessy, Frazier Meet Different Fates

Meghann Shaughnessy alternated between looking angry and sad during her third-round match against Janette Husarova of Slovakia. Her coach and fiance, Rafael Font de Mora, summed up her effort: “It was a very bad match.”

Welcome to the fourth round.

Shaughnessy defeated Husarova, 7-5, 6-4, on Saturday at the French Open and today will play fourth-seeded Jennifer Capriati. Capriati, No. 16 Shaughnessy and No. 6 Serena Williams are the three remaining Americans in the final 16 on the women’s side. Nadia Petrova of Russia eliminated American Amy Frazier, 6-7 (2), 6-4, 6-3, in 2 hours 7 minutes in the third round.

Though Shaughnessy thought she played an “ugly match,” she reached the fourth round of a Grand Slam event for the first time. In 2001, she cracked the top 20 and lost to Lindsay Davenport in the final at Scottsdale, Ariz., and to Venus Williams on clay in the final at Hamburg, Germany.

“I was just a little bit nervous,” Shaughnessy said. “This is the first time I’ve been this far in a Grand Slam and I knew it was a great opportunity.”

She was hardly alone in her discomfort. The wind and cool rainy weather made the conditions difficult for nearly everyone. Two other seeded players exited: Cara Black of Zimbabwe beat No. 8 Conchita Martinez of Spain, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, and Francesca Schiavone of Italy defeated No. 10 Amanda Coetzer of South Africa, 7-5, 6-4. Martinez lost in the French Open final last year to Mary Pierce and this is the first time since 1986 that a Spanish female did not reach the final 16.

Meanwhile, Italy has three women in the fourth round for the first time. The final Frenchwoman is No. 17 Sandrine Testud, who will play top-seeded Martina Hingis of Switzerland today. Testud is 0-4 against Hingis, but Hingis struggled for a set against No. 66-ranked Rachel McQuillan of Australia, winning, 7-5, 6-1.

The French crowd jeered and booed Hingis when she questioned line calls or got angry after missing a shot.

“If I were in her shoes, I’d hate it, people getting on top of you,” McQuillan said. “The French crowds are pretty hard.”

Said Hingis: “I’m not the only one, so I don’t take it personal.”

The women’s tour can often be like a sorority--the slightest miscue by the new kid on the block and it’s hazing time. If the new kid is a top talent, then the criticism is that much tougher.

Offenses on the men’s side used to be handled differently. Lately, that has changed. Alex Corretja took a few shots at Lleyton Hewitt’s boisterous on-court behavior, calling him “a little bit strange” at Lisbon in December.

At least Hewitt had been around for a couple of years. It took one French Open and three rounds for the sniping to start at 18-year-old Andy Roddick. Locker-room skepticism was raised when his cramps came and went in the Michael Chang match.

When a showman such as Andrew Ilie rips his shirt after a victory, it is viewed as a charismatic gesture. Roddick did it after he beat Chang and even the mild-mannered Juan Carlos Ferrero of Spain was put off by the celebration.

“His serve is excellent,” Ferrero said. “He has a very good forehand. His backhand passing shot is very good, but I don’t really like the things he does like tearing up his T-shirt. I don’t think that’s what you do.”

One official from the men’s tour joked: “We’re like the ladies now.”