Jelena Dokic of Yugoslavia became the latest women's seed to crash out of the French Open, losing 6-3, 4-6, 4-6 to qualifier Petra Mandula of Hungary. The 15th-seeded Dokic had been installed as one of the favourites here following her straight-sets wins in the first two rounds which came hot on the heels of her first WTA title just over a week ago in Rome. But after winning the opening set 6-3 in 27min and leading 3-0 in the second the 18-year-old Dokic fell to pieces as the match drew to a close.
Meanwhile, Justine Henin celebrated her 19th birthday with a 6-3 6-4 victory over Virginie Razzano to progress to the last 16 of the French Open at Roland Garros today. The big-hitting Belgian will now meet Austrian Barbara Schett on Sunday, and will have to postpone any partying until her interest in the competition has ended.
She admitted: "We will have a nice dinner. And it will probably be nicer than if I had lost, but the tournament is still going on so the celebrations will be quiet." Meanwhile, Belgian 12th seed Kim Clijsters continued her seemingly effortless progress through the field with a 6-2 6-2 victory over Spain's Marta Marrero.
Clijsters, along with Henin and Yugoslavia's Jelena Dokic, is one of only three seeds left in the bottom half of the draw, which is opening up perfectly for her. The 17-year-old, who has not dropped a set and will next play Nathalie Dechy or Henrieta Nagyova in the next round, claimed: "I feel good, I am feeling a lot better on this clay than I was last year. I think I have improved and that I can definitely play even better. I am confident and every win I get makes me more and more confident."
Elsewhere, Rita Grande beat Spaniard Cristina Torrens Valero 6-3 6-1 and Silvia Farina Elia defeated Czech Daja Bedanova 7-5 7-6. Barbara Schett, the conqueror of second seed Venus Williams in the first round, also continued her progress, the Austrian knocking out another Spaniard, Nuria Llagostera, 6-0 4-6 6-2. There is now just one Spanish woman left in the draw, last year's runner-up Conchita Martinez.
Filed by Shane Murray
