Payback time for Mauresmo as Serena falls

NEW YORK – Amelie Mauresmo settled old scores with Serena Williams at the US Open on Monday to keep alive her drive for a third Grand Slam title of the year.

The French top seed has suffered more than most at the hands of the former world number one over the last few years and came into their fourth round tie with a dismal 1-9 losing record. But in a match that fluctuated from the sublime to the sorry, Mauresmo steadied her nerves to pull through 6-4, 0-6, 6-2 and qualify for a quarter-final tie against Dinara Safin of Russia.Second, third and fourth seeds Justine Henin-Hardenne of Belgium, and Maria Sharapova and Elena Dementieva, both of Russia all took their allotted slots in the last eight.But another Russian 2004 champion Svetlana Kuznetsova fell to the slowly improving Serb Jelena Jankovic.Former winner Lindsay Davenport kept home hopes alive with a straight-sets win over Patty Schnyder, with the other quarter-final spot going to Mauresmo’s compatriot Tatiana Golovin.In the last eight, Mauresmo plays Safina, Sharapova takes on Golovin, Jankovic goes up against Dementieva and Davenport faces Henin-Hardenne.In the men’s tournament, second seed Rafael Nadal of Spain reached the quarter-finals for the first time and was joined by Andy Roddick of the United States and Mikhail Youzhny of Russia.Roddick had the satisfaction of downing Benjamin Becker, the German who brought Andre Agassi’s career to an end on Sunday.He will next play another former champion in New York, Australia’s Lleyton Hewitt, who battled past rising French star Richard Gasquet 6-4, 6-4, 4-6, 3-6, 6-3 in the featured night match with a berth in the semi-finals the prize for the winner.Serena Williams came into her match against Mauresmo with a distinct psychological edge given their previous encounters.But their fortunes have swung dramatically this year with the American sidelined by a knee injury and the French woman enjoying success at last with wins in the Australian Open and at Wimbledon.Mauresmo won a tight first set, but lost her focus completely in the second dropping six games in a row.She stopped the rot after saving a break point in the first game of the decider in a match which saw both players showing their lack of match fitness through a succession of glaring mistakes.It needed either player to take charge and it was Mauresmo who stepped forward at 3-2 ahead setting up break point in a marathon rally and then clinching it as Williams hit a backhand inches long.Two games later it was all over, Mauresmo running down a drop shot on match point to deliver one of her own that Williams could not reach.The top seed is aiming to become the first woman since Serena Williams in 2002 to win three Grand Slam titles in the same year.”I am happy with the third set but less so with the second.I played badly in that,” Mauresmo said.”I think all the experience and maturity I have gained this year helped me to focus at the start of the third set.”Williams said she had been confounded by Mauresmo’s tactics of blocking back her shots.”The blocking just became more and more, more balls being blocked back,” she said.”Just was a game I hadn’t worked on in a long time.”Sharapova, who is on course for a semi-final meeting with Mauresmo, went 1-4 down to China’s top player Li Na before hitting top gear and winning in straights sets for the fourth straight game.”I don’t feel I can go into every single match and play great,” she said.”There are going to be a lot of days in my career where I go out and start slow.But I figured out a way to beat her playing not great.”Henin-Hardenne barely raised sweat in her 6-1, 6-0 rout over Israel’s Shahar Peer taking advantage of her dominance to put in some serve/volley tactics which she says she has been working on for the last few weeks since her Wimbledon final loss to Mauresmo.The Belgian’s next opponent, Davenport, said she was surprised to have got so far in the tournament bearing in mind the back injury that has laid her low for most of the year.The American has lost her last six matches against Henin-Hardenne and says she has yet to work out how to turn the tables.”I’m not going to outrun her, and I don’t have tons of backup options,” she said.”I’m going to have to try and get the first hit on the rally and try to keep the points shorter rather than longer.”Nampa-AFPBut in a match that fluctuated from the sublime to the sorry, Mauresmo steadied her nerves to pull through 6-4, 0-6, 6-2 and qualify for a quarter-final tie against Dinara Safin of Russia.Second, third and fourth seeds Justine Henin-Hardenne of Belgium, and Maria Sharapova and Elena Dementieva, both of Russia all took their allotted slots in the last eight.But another Russian 2004 champion Svetlana Kuznetsova fell to the slowly improving Serb Jelena Jankovic.Former winner Lindsay Davenport kept home hopes alive with a straight-sets win over Patty Schnyder, with the other quarter-final spot going to Mauresmo’s compatriot Tatiana Golovin.In the last eight, Mauresmo plays Safina, Sharapova takes on Golovin, Jankovic goes up against Dementieva and Davenport faces Henin-Hardenne.In the men’s tournament, second seed Rafael Nadal of Spain reached the quarter-finals for the first time and was joined by Andy Roddick of the United States and Mikhail Youzhny of Russia.Roddick had the satisfaction of downing Benjamin Becker, the German who brought Andre Agassi’s career to an end on Sunday.He will next play another former champion in New York, Australia’s Lleyton Hewitt, who battled past rising French star Richard Gasquet 6-4, 6-4, 4-6, 3-6, 6-3 in the featured night match with a berth in the semi-finals the prize for the winner.Serena Williams came into her match against Mauresmo with a distinct psychological edge given their previous encounters.But their fortunes have swung dramatically this year with the American sidelined by a knee injury and the French woman enjoying success at last with wins in the Australian Open and at Wimbledon.Mauresmo won a tight first set, but lost her focus completely in the second dropping six games in a row.She stopped the rot after saving a break point in the first game of the decider in a match which saw both players showing their lack of match fitness through a succession of glaring mistakes.It needed either player to take charge and it was Mauresmo who stepped forward at 3-2 ahead setting up break point in a marathon rally and then clinching it as Williams hit a backhand inches long.Two games later it was all over, Mauresmo running down a drop shot on match point to deliver one of her own that Williams could not reach.The top seed is aiming to become the first woman since Serena Williams in 2002 to win three Grand Slam titles in the same year.”I am happy with the third set but less so with the second.I played badly in that,” Mauresmo said.”I think all the experience and maturity I have gained this year helped me to focus at the start of the third set.”Williams said she had been confounded by Mauresmo’s tactics of blocking back her shots.”The blocking just became more and more, more balls being blocked back,” she said.”Just was a game I hadn’t worked on in a long time.”Sharapova, who is on course for a semi-final meeting with Mauresmo, went 1-4 down to China’s top player Li Na before hitting top gear and winning in straights sets for the fourth straight game.”I don’t feel I can go into every single match and play great,” she said.”There are going to be a lot of days in my career where I go out and start slow.But I figured out a way to beat her playing not great.”Henin-Hardenne barely raised sweat in her 6-1, 6-0 rout over Israel’s Shahar Peer taking advantage of her dominance to put in some serve/volley tactics which she says she has been working on for the last few weeks since her Wimbledon final loss to Mauresmo.The Belgian’s next opponent, Davenport, said she was surprised to have got so far in the tournament bearing in mind the back injury that has laid her low for most of the year.The American has lost her last six matches against Henin-Hardenne and says she has yet to work out how to turn the tables.”I’m not going to outrun her, and I don’t have tons of backup options,” she said.”I’m going to have to try and get the first hit on the rally and try to keep the points shorter rather than longer.”Nampa-AFP