Jeers fail to stop Sharapova's march

Paris: Not even thousands of jeering fans could ruin the moment for Maria Sharapova.

After saving two match points and breaking Patty Schnyder in the 16th game of the third set to reach the French Open quarter-finals with a 3-6, 6-4, 9-7 win, the Russian smiled and waved through the whistling at Court Suzanne Lenglen.

The spectators turned on Sharapova at 7-7 in the final set on Sunday, when she won a disputed point while serving at 30-love. Schnyder watched a serve land in, then complained she had held up a hand to call for time.

The chair umpire ruled the point would count, giving Sharapova her first ace of the tournament. Sharapova said later she didn't see Schnyder's hand until after hitting the ball - and had no regrets about what happened.

"It's pretty hard being a tennis player and Mother Teresa at the same time," Sharapova said. "You're fighting for every single point out there."

Schnyder was one point away from ending the match in the 10th game and again in the 14th - and she also was two points away from victory on 11 occasions. But Sharapova stayed positive.

"Don't count on me giving up," the two-time Grand Slam champion said.

Serena Williams and Justine Henin also won on Sunday, setting up a quarter-final showdown, while Roger Federer advanced in the men's draw.

Sharapova, who has been hindered by a right shoulder injury, said she was able to stay in the match against Schnyder because she kept to her style of play.

"I wasn't going to beat her by being a clay-court player. I'm simply not a clay-court player," Sharapova said. "I started moving in and I started hitting the ball and I started attacking."

The 14th-seeded Schnyder even gave credit to Sharapova for the comeback.

"At the end, yeah, she was the big champion. I'm the little one who could not win," said Schnyder, whose best result at a major was the semifinals at the 2004 Australian Open.

Sharapova will next face No. 9 Anna Chakvetadze, who beat No. 25 Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic 6-4, 0-6, 6-2.

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Williams beat Dinara Safina of Russia 6-2, 6-3, while two-time defending champion Henin beat No. 20 Sybille Bammer of Austria 6-2, 6-4.

In the 2003 French Open semi-finals, Henin beat Williams in a contentious match.

"I don't want to reflect on that anymore. I let it go," said Williams, who has won both of her matches against Henin since, including the final at Key Biscayne, Florida, in March.

No. 3 Svetlana Kuznetsova, No. 4 Jelena Jankovic, No. 6 Nicole Vaidisova and No. 7 Ana Ivanovic also advanced. Jankovic will meet Vaidisova in the next round, while Kuznetsova faces Ivanovic.

Federer advanced by beating No. 13 Mikhail Youzhny of Russia 7-6 (3), 6-4, 6-4. The top-ranked Swiss tied the Open era record for most consecutive sets won at Grand Slams, taking his streak to 35.

"I've got enough shirts for five-set matches in the bag," Federer said. "I only used one today."

Federer next faces No. 9 Tommy Robredo, who defeated No. 29 Filippo Volandri of Italy 6-2, 7-5, 6-1. Federer beat Robredo at the Australian Open.

Federer, trying to win his fourth consecutive major title and complete a career Grand Slam, also matched another Grand Slam mark with 11 straight-set victories in a row. John McEnroe set both records during Wimbledon and the U.S. Open in 1984.

No. 4 Nikolay Davydenko advanced by beating No. 15 David Nalbandian of Argentina 6-3, 7-6 (1), 3-6, 7-6 (2) and will next face Guillermo Canas of Argentina. The 19th-seeded Canas, who beat Federer twice this year, defeated Juan Monaco of Argentina 6-0, 6-4, 6-2.