Associated Press

Paris, May 27:

Pushed to three sets for the third consecutive match, Lindsay Davenport refused to wilt in the 85-degree F (29-degree C) heat. The top-ranked Davenport survived her toughest test yet at the French Open and beat unseeded Frenchwoman Virginie Razzano 7-5, 4-6, 6-4. Davenport’s fourth-round opponent will be two-time runner-up Kim Clijsters, who defeated No 20-seeded Daniela Hantuchova 6-4, 6-2. Clijsters has beaten Davenport in their past six meetings. They’ll play each other on clay for the first time. A victory over Clijsters would put Davenport in the quarter-finals for the first time since 1999 at Roland Garros, the lone Grand Slam title she has yet to win. In other match, 16th-seed Elena Likhovtseva of Russia defeated Italian Silvia Farina Elia 7-5, 7-6. Top-ranked Roger Federer, also bidding for his first French Open title, beat No 25 Fernando Gonzalez 7-6, 7-5, 6-2. Federer hit 11 aces and improved to 44-2 this year. Federer next plays No 14-seeded Carlos Moya, the 1998 champion. Moya outlasted Fernando Vicente 6-4, 7-6, 6-7, 0-6, 6-4.

Rafael Nadal beat fellow teenager Richard Gasquet 6-4, 6-3, 6-2 to advance to the fourth round. Nadal had only 20 unforced errors to Gasquet’s 46. The Spaniard also broke his opponent’s serve seven times. Davenport advanced by overcoming another slow start, 10 double faults and the unseasonable weather to win in 2 hours. Razzano broke serve for 4-all in the final set, but Davenport regained the momentum on the next point by hitting one of the best shots of the match, a running backhand winner into the corner. Two double faults by Razzano, who had 15 in the match, cost her the game. Davenport slammed three winners to serve out the final game for the win.

Against Hantuchova, Clijsters faced her stiffest test so far and still won in straight sets. Clijsters has swept six sets in three matches, losing just 10 games while spending barely three hours on court. Hantuchova played Clijsters on even terms for much of the first set until the Belgian served it out, smacking a forehand winner on the third set point. She raced to a 5-1 lead in the second set and closed out the win in 1 hour, 22 minutes. Clijsters had 29 unforced errors but also hit 23 winners. Hantuchova had 37 errors. Davenport won despite committing 57 unforced errors and losing her serve six times. The sloppy, seesaw match was so even that midway through the third set, each player had won 100 points. For the third match in a row, Davenport started badly, committing 16 errors as she lost the first four games. It took her 26 minutes to win a game, but she rallied for 4-all.