Three-time champion Monica Seles became the first woman to reach the French Open quarter-finals today at Roland Garros as she disposed of Daniela Hantuchova.
Three-time champion Monica Seles became the first woman to reach the French Open quarter-finals today at Roland Garros as she disposed of Daniela Hantuchova.<
The 11th-seeded Slovakian put up a fight but lost 6-4 7-5 to Seles, who won the Roland Garros title for three successive years from 1990.
Seles lost her serve early in the first set but hit back and broke for the second time in the decisive 10th game.
Twice she dropped serve in the second set but again showed resilience to battle back and secure the match win.
Seles completed victory by converting her second match-point when Hantuchova hit long.
Unseeded Clarisa Fernandez from Argentina fought back from a set down to clinch a deserved victory over 11th seed Elena Dementieva from Russia.
The young Argentinian, who had already ousted fourth seed Kim Clijsters earlier this week, beat Dementieva 3-6 6-2 6-3 in one hour, 49 minutes to progress to the tournament's quarter-finals for the first time in her career.
After losing the first set she fought back to break Dementieva three times in the last two sets and seal victory on Dementieva's serve by converting her second match point with a winning return.