Nadal on a roll

PARIS (AP): Four-time champion Rafael Nadal won in straight sets but still needed nearly 21/2 hours to eliminate feisty Lleyton Hewitt 6-3, 6-4, 6-3 to reach the fourth round of the French Open yesterday.

Nadal has eliminated Hewitt at the French Open in four of the past five years.

The Spaniard is attempting to become the second man to win five French Open titles; Bjorn Borg holds the record of six.

This was the 10th meeting between Nadal and Hewitt and Nadal leads 6-4.

Nadal's fellow Spaniard Juan Carlos Ferrero, the 2003 champion, also departed after losing 7-5, 6-3, 3-6, 2-6, 6-4 to unseeded Robby Ginepri.

Ginepri became the only remaining American in the men's draw when sixth-seeded Andy Roddick lost to Russian qualifier Teimuraz Gabashvili 6-4, 6-4, 6-2. Roddick threw rackets and argued with the umpire, but the fits of temper failed to produce a turnaround against an opponent ranked 114th.

No. 3-seeded Novak Djokovic, a two-time semi-finalist, beat Victor Hanescu of Romania 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2. No. 9 David Ferrer of Spain lost to No. 22 Jurgen Melzer of Austria 6-4, 6-0, 7-6 (1).

Serena Williams overcame a second-set slump and a cold to beat 18-year-old Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-1, 1-6, 6-2.

lost five games in a row

Williams lost five games in a row in the second set and then needed a trainer to come out during a changeover to check her temperature and give her pills before a third-set surge.

The top-ranked Williams appeared in danger when she fell behind 5-love in the second set and summoned the trainer.

"Just ran out of a little energy out there," she said, "just fighting a cold and fighting sickness."

Soon Williams' court movement improved, her strokes steadied and she advanced to the fourth round.

The seesaw victory assured Williams of retaining the No. 1 ranking after the tournament.

Other winners included Yaroslava Shvedova of Kazakhstan and wild card Jarmila Groth of Australia, with both advancing to the fourth round at a major tournament for the first time. No. 18-seeded Shahar Peer of Israel and No. 23 Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia also won.

In the completion of suspended matches, Russians Mikhail Youzhny and Nadia Petrova won. Youzhny, seeded 11th, defeated Viktor Troicki 2-6, 7-6 (4), 6-2, 6-3. Petrova, seeded 19th, edged No. 15 Aravane Rezai of France, 6-7 (2), 6-4, 10-8.

On a cloudy, windy, chilly day, the centre court stadium was slow to fill for Serena Williams' match, the first on the schedule. Her aggressive returns had Pavlyuchenkova's serve under constant pressure early, but the talented young Russian - a three-time Grand Slam champion in juniors - suddenly reversed the momentum in the second set.

Williams began to look sluggish during points, took her time between them and occasionally grimaced, while Pavlyuchenkova's booming groundstrokes kept finding the corners.