Sat May 31 13:58:34 2008

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Federer, Ferrer move on; Davydenko stunned in Paris

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Paris, France (Sports Network) - Top-ranked Roger Federer was an easy third- round winner, while fifth-seeded Spaniard David Ferrer went the distance to avoid an upset against former world No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt, and world No. 4 Russian Nikolay Davydenko was a stunning loser Saturday at the 2008 French Open.

The two-time French Open runner-up Federer breezed past tall Croat Mario Ancic 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 under a light drizzle in the nightcap on Court Chatrier.

The reigning five-time Wimbledon and four-time U.S. Open champion Federer owns 12 Grand Slam titles but still needs Roland Garros to complete a career Grand Slam. The super Swiss lost to Rafael Nadal in the last two finals here.

Meanwhile, big Croat Ivan Ljubicic, seeded 28th here, shocked the two-time Roland Garros semifinalist Davydenko 4-6, 2-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 on Day 7.

Ljubicic prevailed in 3 hours, 13 minutes on Court 1, as he ripped 15 aces and broke Davydenko's serve five times, compared to four breaks for his Russian counterpart. The surprising Croat tallied 17 more winners than Davydenko, who managed only 12 en route to defeat.

Davydenko was fresh off his clay-court title in Austria.

The 2007 Tennis Masters Cup runner-up Ferrer came from behind in order to outlast a 25th-seeded Hewitt 6-2, 3-6, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 in 3 hours, 35 minutes on Court Lenglen.

Ferrer, a quarterfinalist here in 2005, broke Hewitt for a 5-4 edge in the final set and then held his serve to cap off the hard-fought victory. Ferrer recorded six service breaks, compared to five for Hewitt, who also hurt his own chances by piling up 55 unforced errors.

Hewitt is a two-time Grand Slam champion, but has never advanced beyond the quarterfinals at the French Open.

The gritty Ferrer's fourth-round opponent will be 21st-seeded Czech Radek Stepanek, who pulled off a mild third-round upset by dismissing 12th-seeded Spaniard Tommy Robredo 6-3, 6-2, 6-1.

Former Aussie Open runner-up Fernando Gonzalez, seeded 24th, notched a top-10 upset by ousting ninth-seeded Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka 5-7, 2-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 in 3 hours, 19 minutes.

American Robby Ginepri continued to surprise here with a 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 victory over French crowd favorite Florent Serra. The 25-year-old Ginepri had never even won a match at Roland Garros prior to this year (0-5), but is now the first American man to reach the fourth round here in five years.

Ginepri should have his hands full with the Chilean Gonzalez in the round of 16.

Additionally, French favorite Gael Monfils came from behind to beat Austrian lefthander Jurgen Melzer 4-6, 7-5, 4-6, 6-0, 6-2. Monfils will meet Ljubicic in the next round.