Paris, France (Sports Network) - Caroline Wozniacki is still the top-ranked
women's player in the world, but she will still be without a Grand Slam title
after being eliminated in the third round at the 2011 French Open.
Daniela Hantuchova dealt Wozniacki her latest major championship
disappointment, as the 28th-seeded native of Slovakia notched a 6-1, 6-3 win
over the 20-year-old Dane on Friday at Roland Garros.
Former champions Francesca Schiavone of Italy and Russia's Svetlana Kuznetsova
were among the third-round winners Friday. Schiavone, the defending champion
and this year's fifth seed, held a 6-3, 1-2 lead against Peng Shuai when the
29th seed from China retired because of an illness. Kuznetsova, the 13th seed
and 2009 winner, cruised past Canada's Rebecca Marino, 6-0, 6-4.
Also Friday, Argentina's Gisela Dulko ousted eighth-seeded Samantha Stosur of
Australia, 6-4, 1-6, 6-3, and 10th-seeded Jelena Jankovic of Serbia advanced
with a 6-2, 6-2 pasting of American Bethanie Mattek-Sands. Frenchwoman Marion
Bartoli also reached the fourth round, as the 11th seed rallied for a 3-6,
6-2, 6-4 triumph over Germany's Julia Georges.
Wozniacki's loss leaves the women's draw without its top two seeds, as Kim
Clijsters was beaten by 20-year-old Dutchwoman Arantxa Rus on Thursday. The
second-seeded Belgian has never won a French Open title. However, she owns
three major championships, while Wozniacki is still in search of an elusive
first major crown.
A four-time winner already this year, it's the majors where Wozniacki
continually comes up short. She was beaten in the semifinals by China's Li Na
at the Australian Open earlier this year and has reached just one Grand Slam
final -- losing to Clijsters in the 2009 U.S. Open title match.
The door is now wide open for a potential repeat champion in Schiavone or
Kuznetsova, while there could also be a major breakthrough for Vera Zvonareva
or Jelena Jankovic. Zvonareva, set to face Anastasia Rodionova in the third
round late Friday, was the runner-up at both Wimbledon and the U.S. Open last
year, while Jankovic was the 2008 runner-up at the U.S. Open.
Schiavone will next take on Jankovic in the fourth round and Kuznetsova will
square off against Hantuchova, while Bartoli and Dulko will meet in another
fourth-rounder.
The Sports Network