Maria Sharapova saved her most piercing shriek to punctuate her final shot of the first set, a thunderous crosscourt backhand winner to close out a tiebreaker. She then dominated the rest of the way Saturday to beat Karin Knapp 7-6 (4), 6-0 in the third round of the French Open. The top-ranked Sharapova needed 81 minutes to win the opening set. She squandered a lead and fell behind in the tiebreaker, then benefited from some shaky shots by Knapp. But beginning with that ferocious backhand, Sharapova played her best tennis of the week. Top-ranked Roger Federer was aggressive from the start and defeated Mario Ancic 6-3, 6-4, 6-2. Ancic is the last player to beat Federer at Wimbledon – in 2002 – but has lost their past five meetings. “I was very pleased the way I played, because I always think on any surface Mario's tough,” Federer said. “Maybe a little tougher on a faster court, but nevertheless I'm happy with my performance.” Federer will next play unseeded Frenchman Julien Benneteau, who beat Robin Soderling 1-6, 7-6 (6), 6-0, 6-1, then threw his shirt and shoes to the jubilant crowd. The lone remaining American in either draw, Robby Ginepri, won again and became the first US man to reach the fourth round at Roland Garros since Andre Agassi in 2003. Ginepri extended his improbable run by beating Frenchman Florent Serra 6-4, 6-4, 6-4. Ranked 88th, Ginepri was steadier than Serra, losing serve just once and committing only 18 unforced errors to 43 for the Frenchman. Ginepri said he has benefited from the coaching of Jose Higueras and Diego Moyano. Ginepri will next play No. 24 Fernando Gonzalez, who outlasted No. 9 Stanislas Wawrinka 5-7, 2-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4. The 16th-seeded Victoria Azarenka beat No. 18 Francesca Schiavone 6-1, 6-1 and has lost only six games in three matches this week. Azarenka took advantage of Schiavone's weak second serve, winning 23 of those 28 points. Since the start of the year, Azarenka has climbed in the rankings from 30th to a career-high 17th. Azarenka will next play No. 4-seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova, who faced only one break point and beat Nadia Petrova 6-2, 6-1. Kuznetsova, the 2004 US Open champion, beat Azarenka in their two previous meetings, both on hardcourt. Against Petrova, Kuznetsova hit five aces and lost only five points on her first serve. She said she changed her service motion two months ago. “I need my serve more than ever, so I'm really focused on it, and I feel like I'm doing much better,” Kuznetsova said. “I feel so much power in it, more consistent. I feel really good when I can get everything together.” After winning the Australian Open in January, Sharapova needs only a French Open title to complete a career Grand Slam. Clay is her least favorite surface, and she's top-seeded only because four-time champion Justine Henin retired two weeks ago. In a sign that it won't be easy, Sharapova needed 6 1/2 hours to win her first three matches. “We're playing on a surface that's going to make you hit more balls and that's going to be more physically challenging,” she said. “But, you know, I'm mentally prepared for that.” To keep winning, she'll need to improve her serve. Sharapova had nine double-faults against Knapp, giving her 36 in three matches. “Sometimes it becomes a steamroll,” Sharapova said. She'll next play Dinara Safina, seeded 13th, who defeated Zheng Jie 6-2, 7-5. Safina beat Sharapova in the fourth round at the French Open two years ago. Their quarter of the draw is all Russian. It includes No. 7 Elena Dementieva, who beat Olga Govortsova 6-0, 6-4, and No. 11 Vera Zvonareva, who swept Aleksandra Wozniak 6-2, 6-2. In the completion of a match suspended due to darkness, No. 3 Jelena Jankovic defeated No. 28 Dominika Cibulkova 7-5, 6-3. Jankovic led 4-2 in the second set when play was halted Friday. On the men's side, No. 4 Nikolay Davydenko blew a big lead and lost to No. 28 Ivan Ljubicic 4-6, 2-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4. No. 5 David Ferrer won a seesaw marathon against No. 25 Lleyton Hewitt, 6-2, 3-6, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4. No. 21 Radek Stepanek beat No. 12 Tommy Robredo 6-3, 6-2, 6-1. – AP __
