Mauresmo out of French Open

Amelie Mauresmo became the highest-profile casualty of this year’s French Open when she was dumped out of her home tournament by Lucie Safarova in straight sets today.

Mauresmo, seeded fifth, imploded in both sets as she lost 6-3 7-6 (7/3) to the blossoming 25th seed, who hails from the Czech Republic, in the third round.

Safarova came into the clash having defeated Mauresmo in their only previous encounter, in the last 16 of this year’s Australian Open.

But she started poorly here, Mauresmo breaking early to go 3-0 ahead.

However, her game then disintegrated, Safarova winning six games in a row - three on the Frenchwoman’s serve – to take the set.

The second set followed a near-identical course. Mauresmo again went 3-0 up, this time after breaking Safarova twice on the spin.

But Mauresmo was broken in the fourth and a lucky net-cord on game point handed the Czech the fifth on her own serve.

The Frenchwoman saved three break points in the sixth game, but then lost the fourth to find herself all square at 3-3.

After three held service games apiece, the match went into a tie-break.

Safarova took an early mini-break to go 4-3 ahead, and then a textbook wide serve and approach left her two points from a win.

Mauresmo then sent a backhand long and a basic forehand into the net to gift the Czech the match.

Meanwhile, Maria Sharapova denied suggestions that competing at Roland Garros with a shoulder injury could threaten her participation at Wimbledon, as well as future events this year.

The Russian, seeded second here, beat Alla Kudryavtseva 6-1 6-4 on Philippe Chatrier court on Saturday to progress into the fourth round.

It was her third consecutive straight-sets win of the tournament, even though she has admitted she is playing through the pain barrier as a result of her shoulder woes of the past two months.

Sharapova does not believe continuing to play on at the French Open will make the injury even worse.

“Everyone is going to have suggestions and opinions and in my career, I’m going to have a lot of these,” said the Russian, who was sidelined for around seven weeks with the problem.

“But the most important person in this situation is myself and I listen to myself.

“I think I’ve made it pretty clear that the doctors have given me the okay to play with it, even though it’s impossible to feel 100% healthy, even if it’s not the shoulder.

“You’re always going to feel aches and pains somewhere, especially on clay courts. It’s normal.

“As long as I know I can’t damage anything further, I’m cool to play.”

Sharapova revealed she has been having up to an hour and a half’s strengthening and exercising treatment on her shoulder injury every day during this tournament.

“After the shot, it is weak and it gets weak – so do other parts of my body.

“Everything seems to be weak and so everything needs to be worked on. Obviously the shoulder is the number-one thing.”

Sharapova produced a mixed bag against Kudryavtseva in the all-Russian clash.

Her serve was still in second gear owing to the injury, but she was able to convert all three of her break points in the first set to take it in 28 minutes.

The second set did not exactly go according to plan for the two-time grand-slam winner, however.

She found herself 3-0 down after losing her serve twice, but broke back in the fourth game.

Sharapova was then broken again – for the third time in a row – to go 4-1 down, but then Kudryavtseva, 19, collapsed.

Sharapova broke twice on the bounce, and held consecutive service games – the second to love – to regain the lead.

In what proved to be the final game, the unseeded Kudryavtseva hit a forehand long after saving the first of two match points to hand the match to Sharapova.

“I figured her out pretty quickly,” added Sharapova.

“I played pretty solid in the first set but then let myself down a bit. I was making a lot of unforced errors in a short period of time.

“I know a lot of people are not going to let me get away with that. It’s a good reminder for the future.”

She next faces 14th-seed Patty Schnyder, who beat Italy’s Karin Knapp 6-1 4-6 7-5.

Schnyder has only beaten Sharapova once, but that was on clay in 2005 in Rome.

Elsewhere, another high-ranked Russian, third-seed Svetlana Kuznetsova, also progressed in straight sets, conquering Slovakia’s Dominika Cibulkova 6-2 6-3 on Court 1.

Ana Ivanovic, the seventh seed, lost just two games in sealing a victory against Romania’s Ioana Raluca Olaru.

The Serbian joined compatriot and fellow top-10 player Jelena Jankovic in the fourth round by easing to a 6-2 6-0 victory on Suzanne Lenglen court.

Ninth-seed Anna Chakvetadze, another Russian, defeated Ai Sugiyama 6-4 6-4 in the second match on Suzanne Lenglen, and she will play Safarova next.