Nadal Beats the Crowd to Win Two-Day Match

From dealing with a raucous, soccer-type atmosphere, then back to a relatively sane tennis crowd in less than 24 hours, somehow Rafael Nadal of Spain survived a dizzying ride into the quarterfinals.

The 18-year-old endured the usual rough treatment given to most newcomers at the French Open.

His sin? Among other things, playing and defeating Frenchmen in consecutive matches. And more precisely, simply being across the net from Sebastien Grosjean when the crowd erupted in whistles and boos after the chair umpire refused to check a mark in the second set Sunday night, taking audience participation to a new level.

Their match was played over two days because of rain, and it was probably just as well, if only to calm the masses. The pause came with Nadal leading, 3-0, in the third set after the players had split sets.

Fourth-seeded Nadal came back to finish his business Monday afternoon and did so with brilliant efficiency, defeating Grosjean, 6-4, 3-6, 6-0, 6-3, in the fourth round.

Nadal was rattled but never broken by the crowd, which stopped the match for about 10 minutes Sunday. He will play David Ferrer of Spain today in the quarterfinals.

“The crowd yesterday didn’t really behave as they maybe should behave when watching a match of tennis,” Nadal said through an interpreter. “But this is France. You know, it’s not Spain. I’d never seen anything like that in Spain.”

Though the crowd was calmer Monday -- Nadal called it “more focused, more respectful” -- but there was no shortage of tumult on an electric day of tennis.

In no particular order:

* A stirring comeback. Former champion Justine Henin-Hardenne of Belgium survived two match points in the ninth game of the third set in her fourth-round match against sixth-seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia.

Tenth-seeded Henin-Hardenne, battling a sore right leg, won the final four games, cementing her reputation as a pressure player, defeating Kuznetsova, 7-6 (6), 4-6, 7-5, in 3 hours 14 minutes. Kuznetsova is starting to cement a less favorable reputation. Last year, she blew a match point in the fourth round here against eventual champion Anastasia Myskina of Russia

Henin-Hardenne, like Nadal, is on a 21-match winning streak. She did not fear it would end against Kuznetsova.

“Not at all, especially because I was seeing her very nervous,” Henin-Hardenne said. “She was afraid to win the match; that was very clear. And when you can see that in the eyes of your opponent, that is very good for myself.”

Shot selection telegraphed the issue too. On the first match point, with Henin-Hardenne serving at 3-5, Kuznetsova went for it, pushing a forehand just wide. The second one was shakier, as Kuznetsova put a weak slice backhand in the net.

“That wasn’t a very tough shot,” said Henin-Hardenne, who will play second-seeded Maria Sharapova of Russia today in the quarterfinals. “So I understood at that point I could win the match.”

Said Kuznetsova: “She didn’t win it. I mean, I lost. I did mistakes. The moment I had to do something, I didn’t do anything. I was just putting the ball in. I didn’t play my game.”

* Surprising departures. Last year’s Argentine finalists, defending champion Gaston Gaudio and finalist Guillermo Coria, exited within about half an hour of each other. Nikolay Davydenko of Russia defeated Coria, 2-6, 6-3, 7-6 (1), 6-2, in 3 hours 6 minutes, and Ferrer beat fifth-seeded Gaudio, 2-6, 6-4, 7-6 (5), 5-7, 6-4, rallying from an 0-4 deficit in the fifth.

* Debut, Part II. Nadal isn’t the only teenager making a memorable debut in Paris. Seventeen-year-old Ana Ivanovic of Serbia and Montenegro followed her upset of Amelie Mauresmo of France and won another tough three-setter to reach the quarterfinals.

Ivanovic got behind by a service break in the third but defeated Francesca Schiavone of Italy, 6-4, 6-7 (3), 6-3, winning the final five games. Schiavone lost the final 10 points.

* Marat Moments. Marat Safin of Russia likes smashing things, and his fourth-round match against Tommy Robredo of Spain was no exception: He broke his racket and a courtside chair in the third set. Robredo defeated third-seeded Safin, 7-5, 1-6, 6-1, 4-6, 8-6, in 3 hours 50 minutes.

The decisive service break came at 6-6 in the fifth when Safin double-faulted. His second serve clipped the top of the net and bounced wide. “I think it was pure luck,” Safin said. “Pure luck.”

Safin said the wave of third-set destruction was because he was frustrated “155 times today.”

“Of course, not one normal person could live with that,” he said. “Me, I couldn’t. I destroyed the chair because I can’t take it anymore. I had to relieve everything just what I had inside just to keep fighting. Otherwise, if I keep on swallowing everything what happened in my head, I would go crazy.”

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French Open

Quarterfinalists:

MEN

* No. 1 Roger Federer (Switzerland) vs. Victor Hanescu (Romania).

* No. 4 Rafael Nadal (Spain) vs. No. 20 David Ferrer (Spain).

* No. 12 Nikolay Davydenko (Russia) vs. No. 15 Tommy Robredo (Spain).

* No. 9 Guillermo Canas (Argentina) vs. Mariano Puerta (Argentina).

*

WOMEN

* No. 1 Lindsay Davenport vs. No. 21 Mary Pierce (France).

* No. 16 Elena Likhovtseva (Russia) vs. Sesil Karatantcheva (Bulgaria).

* No. 7 Nadia Petrova (Russia) vs. No. 29 Ana Ivanovic (Serbia and Montenegro).

* No. 10 Justine Henin-Hardenne (Belgium) vs. No. 2 Maria Sharapova (Russia).