Courting Drama on the Clay

Court 1 was a sun-splashed festival of nations at the French Open, united by a thread of clay-court theatrics Sunday.

First was Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova’s three-set victory over Francesca Schiavone of Italy, which started at 11:16 a.m. The bright sun was long gone on Court 1 by the time play ended around 9 p.m., when the match between Martina Hingis of Switzerland and Shahar Peer of Israel was stopped at one set each because of darkness.

Only one match of the five played on Court 1 did not go the full distance. Unfortunately for James Blake, that included his resumed contest against Gael Monfils. Blake, the last American man standing in Paris, had split sets with the French teenager when play in their third-round match was called Saturday night because of darkness.

Blake came undone Sunday in what is fondly called “The Bullring,” losing yet another five-set match. Monfils defeated the eighth-seeded Blake, 6-2, 6-7 (2), 7-6 (1), 5-7, 6-4, in 3 hours 20 minutes.

That was followed by No. 11 Venus Williams’ 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 victory over No. 7 Patty Schnyder of Switzerland in the fourth round.

Drama wasn’t confined to Court 1. On Court Suzanne Lenglen, No. 4 Maria Sharapova squandered a 5-1 third-set lead against Russian countrywoman Dinara Safina. Safina, seeded 14th, staged an incredible rally to win, 7-5, 2-6, 7-5, and then received a congratulatory text message from older brother Marat Safin.

And on the main show court, the yearly but predictable Amelie Mauresmo disappointment unfolded, this time at the hands of 17-year-old Nicole Vaidisova of the Czech Republic. The Frenchwoman, seeded No. 1, won a first-set tiebreaker but then went quietly, losing, 6-7 (5), 6-1, 6-2. Vaidisova, seeded 16th, will next play Williams in the quarterfinals.

“Personally, I think it was a much better experience than the previous French Opens,” Mauresmo said. “Was tension a factor today? I’m not so certain. Do I have a possibility of going far on this surface? Probably. For the moment I’m just not doing it.”

Blake never seems able to do it in five-set matches; he’s 0-8 in in his career. The charismatic Monfils, a relative Grand Slam neophyte at 19 playing in his second French Open, has won three consecutive five-setters in this tournament.

For all the impressive strides Blake has made in the last year, his choice of tactics in the final few games was questionable. Monfils looked tired and bent over in the sixth game of the fifth set, apparently suffering from abdominal pain.

So Blake started coming in more near the end. “An error in judgment,” he said.

Indeed. He lost his serve at 4-4, missing two volleys in that game, the second one on break point, when he pushed a relatively easy forehand volley into the net. Monfils then served it out at love, and for the third consecutive year no American man was able to get past the third round.

“I was rushing a bit and maybe just thinking he was going to be a little nervous in that situation,” Blake said.

The French crowd also got to Blake, who had an animated post-match discussion with the chair umpire. He felt fans made noise on “three pretty important points.

“He [the umpire] didn’t think I had a valid point,” Blake said. “So we disagreed a bit.”

Blake took nearly everyone aback, including Monfils, when he invited a fan to come out of the crowd to look at the mark on the court early in the fourth set, a security guard’s nightmare. And don’t hold your breath waiting for this to happen at the U.S. Open.

“It’s an incredible thing,” Monfils said. “It was funny, but it should not be done.”

At 6 feet 4, Monfils cuts an impressive figure, and he plays terrific defense for a man his size. Blake said he thought Monfils was the fastest player he had faced on the tour, adding: “He’s talented. He has everything athletically. He is, in my opinion, the best athlete I’ve seen, that I’ve played against.”

Monfils had a good sense of humor when asked about his next opponent, Novak Djokovic of Serbia and Montenegro, who many felt abused the injury timeout rule against Monfils last year at the U.S. Open.

“Well, he couldn’t breathe and he had a problem in the calf of his leg, then he had pain somewhere else. I can do the same and pretend I have blisters,” Monfils said. “I don’t think it was a very good way of playing. But I think he’s more mature now. He’s not going to repeat that, I think, in France. He’s clever enough not to do that.”

Top-seeded Roger Federer of Switzerland proceeded almost quietly through his fourth-round match, defeating Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic, 6-3, 6-2, 6-3. He will next play No. 12 Mario Ancic of Croatia, whose progress here has been anything but uneventful.

Ancic was fined $3,000 for his shoving match with Paul Capdeville of Chile after their second-round match, and Sunday he needed treatment for cramps and threw up in the fifth set before beating No. 7 Tommy Robredo of Spain, 6-4, 4-6, 2-6, 6-4, 7-5.