Sharapova, Henin-Hardenne to meet in French quarterfinals

PARIS – Maria Sharapova slugged her way into the French Open quarterfinals Monday, and one of the first questions she was asked was about her makeup, her dresses and feeling beautiful.

Momentarily nonplussed, she started to answer, then laughed.

“That’s such a not-tennis question,” she said.

Sharapova plays 2003 champion Justine Henin-Hardenne in a match today that could propel the 18-year-old Russian toward her second Grand Slam title and first on clay.

When someone asked if she’s too young to be “a global product,” Sharapova volleyed back, saying, “Unfortunately, it’s too late.”

Winning Wimbledon last summer is bringing Sharapova fame, fortune, endorsements and a never-ending stream of goofy questions, even during tournaments where she’s trying to show that she’s all business.

The second-seeded Russian took all of 10 minutes to sweep the final three games and complete a 6-2, 6-3 victory over Spain’s Nuria Llagostera Vives in a match suspended Sunday because of rain.

Henin-Hardenne, the 10th-seeded Belgian, squeaked past another Russian teen, reigning U.S. Open champion and No. 6 seed Svetlana Kuznetsova, 7-6 (6), 4-6, 7-5 in a grueling 3 hours and 15 minutes.

Men’s phenom Rafael Nadal of Spain, who turns 19 Friday, reached his first Grand Slam quarterfinal and ran his winning streak to 21 matches by completing a rain-interrupted 6-4, 3-6, 6-0, 6-3 victory over No. 23 Sebastien Grosjean of France. The match was halted for 10 minutes when a chair umpire’s ruling against Grosjean brought sustained jeers from the center court crowd before it was suspended in the third set Sunday because of the rain.

“The crowd yesterday didn’t really behave as they maybe should behave when watching a match,” said the fourth-seeded Nadal, who next faces No. 20 David Ferrer. “But this is France, it’s not Spain. I’ve never seen anything like that in Spain, that’s for sure. It was just a really silly thing. The umpire was absolutely right.”

In a tournament in which top players have fallen early and often, the fourth round Monday saw the departure of defending champion Gaston Gaudio and the Argentine compatriot he beat in the final last year, Guillermo Coria, as well as Australian Open champ and No. 3 seed Marat Safin.

The fifth-seeded Gaudio blew a 4-0 lead in the final set and lost to Ferrer, 2-6, 6-4, 7-6 (5), 5-7, 6-4.

“I got too nervous, I guess, and after that I couldn’t do anything,” Gaudio said. “Always to lose is disappointing. Losing like this is even worse.”

Coria, seeded eighth, was eliminated by No. 12 Nikolay Davydenko 2-6, 6-3, 7-6 (1), 6-2.

Safin, frustrated by his own play, smashed a racket and put a hole in the base of his changeover chair in the third set of a 7-5, 1-6, 6-1, 4-6, 8-6 loss to Spain’s Tommy Robredo that took 3 hours, 50 minutes.

No. 9 Guillermo Canas of Argentina advanced when No. 28 Nicolas Kiefer withdrew because of a sore neck.

And a day after 15-year-old Sesil Karatantcheva reached the women’s quarters, No. 29 Ana Ivanovic became the third teen to get there. The 17-year-old Serb beat No. 22 Francesca Schiavone 6-4, 6-7 (3), 6-3.