Serena survives funny turn,Roddick not amused by loss

Fellow American Roddick was trounced in straight sets by Teimuraz Gabashvili — his misfiring game no match for the flashy Russian or the cool,breezy conditions that returned to Roland Garros after the glorious sunshine of Frantic Friday.

I fought through a couple of matches that were a little dicey. Today I got outplayed from the first ball,Roddick,who will now begin his preparations for Wimbledon,told reporters after his 6-4 6-4 6-2 defeat to a qualifier ranked 114 in the world rankings.

Roddick angrily threw his spare rackets to his entourage after dropping his serve in the seventh game,complaining about string tensions. By the time they returned to a chilly Court Suzamme Lenglen,it was virtually all over.

I felt like I wasn’t getting much on the ball so I kind of threw them in and wanted some looser tensions,Roddick said. By the time I got them in I think I was down two breaks in the third. Little too late to experiment.

The 27-year-old’s mood was not helped by the balls rolling into the wet tarpaulins used to cover the courts.

If a ball rolls through a puddle enough times,can you tell me what happens to it? Then when clay attaches to it,it doesn’t get lighter…

Spain’s David Ferrer also joined Roddick on the casualty list,the ninth seed surprisingly beaten in straight sets by Austrian Jurgen Melzer,who now faces Gabashvili for a place in the quarter-finals.

After Friday’s champagne tennis when organisers got the tournament schedule back on track with a feast of top seeds in action,the middle weekend began with a hangover.

Hopes that home favourite Aravane Rezai would lift the mood evaporated when she lost what amounted to a sudden death shoot-out against Russia’s Nadia Petrova.

Starting at 7-7 in the deciding third set after darkness interrupted a thrilling match the previous evening,15th seed Rezai was back off court in 15 minutes after Petrova held her nerve to prevail 10-8.

Marion Bartoli also lost her third-round match against Israel’s Shahar Peer to leave Jo-Wilfried Tsonga as the only home player left in the singles draw.

Peer will face Serena Williams for a quarter-final berth but at one stage Pavlyuchenkova looked the more likely winner of the day’s opening match on Phillipe Chatrier court.

Williams lost her opening service game of the morning to the 18-year-old but rattled off the next six in what looked to be shaping up as gentle Saturday morning workout.

The 28-year-old,shooting for a 13th grand slam singles title,then slumped 5-0 down in the second set and called for the trainer and the doctor at the changeover.

After having her pulse taken and her temperature checked she emerged rather gingerly before losing the set.

She resisted some aggressive play early in the third and saved two break points before regaining control,clinching victory in one hour 48 minutes.

By reaching the fourth round Serena is guaranteed holding the world number one ranking from Venus,whatever happens in the rest of the tournament.

Two matches later on Saturday should get the pulse racing.

Four-times champions Rafael Nadal and Justine Henin both come up against former world number ones — Nadal tangling with Lleyton Hewitt and Henin facing Maria Sharapova.