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Home  » Sports » Favourites aim to settle unfinished business

Favourites aim to settle unfinished business

By Pritha Sarkar
May 30, 2005 12:47 IST
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French Open favourites Rafael Nadal and Maria Sharapova will be looking to complete unfinished business when they return for fourth-round matches on Monday.

The Spaniard was leading French number one Sebastien Grosjean 6-4, 3-6, 3-0, while Sharapova held a 6-2, 3-3 advantage over Spain's Nuria Llagostera Vives when persistent showers forced play to be abandoned on Sunday.

Nadal will also hope for a calmer reception after he felt the full wrath of the home crowd on Sunday, when his match against Grosjean was brought to a halt for nine minutes over a controversial line call.

A booing and jeering crowd held up the players from resuming the match just after the 18-year-old Spaniard had broken for a 1-0 lead in the second set.

The fans were annoyed with Argentine umpire Damian Steiner who refused Grosjean's request to check a ball mark on the red clay during the last point of that game.

Stamping their feet and gesturing with their thumbs down, the boos and whistles became louder as Nadal made several attempts to re-start the match.

Eventually, Grosjean had to request the crowd to calm down before play could resume.

FRENCH CHALLENGE

If Nadal beats Grosjean, he will bring the curtain down on the French challenge in the men's competition having also claimed the scalp of Richard Gasquet in the previous round.

Champion Gaston Gaudio will aim to book his place in the last eight when he takes on David Ferrer in a match also held over from Sunday.

The players spent a frustrating day in the locker room as the bad weather prevented them from stepping on court for their contest.

Third seed Marat Safin, aiming to become the first player since Jim Courier in 1992 to win the season's first two Grand Slams in succession, will be again trying to keep his suspect temperament under control when he takes on Tommy Robredo.

In the women's draw, Russia's Sharapova will be hoping for a rather quick workout on the Suzanne Lenglen court as she is just three games away from a potential quarter-final meeting with 2003 champion Justine Henin-Hardenne.

However, before the pair can even start preparing for that encounter, former world number one Henin-Hardenne will have to overcome US Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova.

The Russian has slipped through the draw quietly and will be gunning for revenge since the Belgian has beaten her in six of their seven meetings, including the Warsaw final last month.

 

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Pritha Sarkar
Source: REUTERS
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