Sharapova keeps her perspective

NEW YORK — Maria Sharapova and her father often trade glances between points. In the stands, Dad pounds his fist on his chest, and she mimics the signal.

It represents a simple message — “Play with heart!” — but the Wimbledon champion didn’t use the gesture during a 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 upset loss to Mary Pierce in the U.S. Open’s third round Saturday.

Instead, right over her heart and just below her sponsor’s logo, Sharapova’s silver dress carried a plain black ribbon. She wore it in memory of the more than 340 people, nearly half children, killed in a hostage-taking at a school in her native Russia.

“I lost today, but I still have to move on. It’s not the end of the world,” said Sharapova, who double-faulted 14 times and dropped the final five games. “There are a lot more important things in the world going on right now.”

Given her almost perfect English, her all-grown-up strokes, and her poise on and off the court, it’s easy to forget that Sharapova is just 17 and was born in Siberia.

If she hadn’t flashed the tennis ability that prompted a move to Florida a decade ago, Sharapova might very well be just another teen readjusting to high school life this week, half a world away.

“The first of September is when so many kids go to school, the first day back. They go in with flowers and the whole family,” she said. “Unfortunately, the terrorists decided to do something bad with those families and kids. It just shows that my loss is a little thing.”

As far as tennis goes, though, her exit was the day’s most significant development, more surprising than No. 3 Carlos Moya’s 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-7 (5), 7-5 collapse against 100th-ranked Oliver Rochus of Belgium, at 5-foot-5 the shortest ATP Tour regular.

Otherwise, the top players advanced in straight sets, including Justine Henin-Hardenne, Lindsay Davenport, Venus Williams, Roger Federer, Andre Agassi and Tim Henman.

Agassi’s next opponent will be Sargis Sargsian, who erased a two-set deficit and saved two match points to beat Paul-Henri Mathieu 4-6, 4-6, 6-4, 6-2, 7-6 (4) in 4 hours, 41 minutes. Add in his second-round upset of No. 10 Nicolas Massu — at 5:09, the second-longest match in tournament history — and Sargsian broke the record for longest consecutive Open matches.

“I don’t know how I did it,” said Sargsian, an Armenian ranked 54th and only once before this far at a major.

Rochus, often mistaken by security guards for a ball boy or a junior player, entered the tournament with a 76-101 career mark and an 0-4 Open record. That last fact prompted Moya to ask incredulously, “He never won?”

Now Rochus is one victory shy of .500 in New York. The Belgian knocked off No. 27 Mario Ancic, a Wimbledon semifinalist, in the first round, and can reach his first Grand Slam quarterfinal by beating No. 22 Dominik Hrbaty.

“That’s why you don’t underestimate anybody,” said Agassi, a 6-4, 6-2, 6-3 winner over No. 25 Jiri Novak.

Moya won the 1998 French Open, but he’s been a quarterfinalist at just three of his past 20 majors, and he was largely his own undoing Saturday. He made 61 unforced errors, and double-faulted on match point.

Henin-Hardenne beat Lisa Raymond 6-4, 6-3, Davenport got past No. 26 Elena Bovina 7-6 (7), 6-2, and Williams defeated No. 20 Chanda Rubin 7-6 (4), 6-3 at night.

“This is one of the first times in a year that I’ve felt normal on the court. It’s been so challenging,” said 2000-01 Open champ Williams, who missed the 2003 tournament with an abdominal strain. “Today is the first day that I started to feel like I did before I was injured.”

No. 5 Henman outlasted Czech qualifier Michal Tabara 4-6, 6-3, 5-7, 6-4, 6-3, while Federer’s 6-0, 6-4, 7-6 (7) victory over No. 31 Fabrice Santoro put him in the round of 16 for the fourth straight year

“The way he’s playing now,” Santoro said, “he doesn’t have to be scared of anyone.”

But Federer’s never been past the Open’s fourth round. If he does reach the quarterfinals, his opponent could be Agassi, an eight-time major champion.

Agassi’s right sneaker’s sole tore away against Novak, so he reached into his bag for a plastic tube of glue and reattached it. That was the biggest blip in another easy victory.

“You never know when you need your best tennis,” Agassi said. “That’s why it’s always best to save it for when you do.”