Fri May 30 08:50:53 2008

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Serena eliminated; Sharapova, Ivanovic advance in Paris

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Paris, France (Sports Network) - Serena Williams, the only former champion in the women's draw at the French Open, was eliminated in third-round play Friday at Roland Garros.

The top two women's seeds, Maria Sharapova and Ana Ivanovic, each posted victories on Friday.

Slovenia's Katarina Srebotnik, the 27th seed, pulled off the 6-4, 6-4 upset of the fifth-seeded Williams. The American star captured the 2002 French Open crown and had reached at least the quarterfinals in her three subsequent appearances in Paris.

The third-round ouster marked the earliest Grand Slam defeat for the eight- time major champion since a third-round setback at the 2006 Australian Open. She last won a Grand Slam title at the 2007 Australian Open and advanced only as far as the quarterfinals in each of her last four Grand Slam events.

Sharapova notched a second-round victory Friday, but was taken to three sets for the second time in as many matches. The top-seeded Russian was two points away from defeat on Wednesday in her first round match against fellow Russian Evgeniya Rodina, and on Friday earned a 6-2, 3-6, 6-2 win against American Bethanie Mattek.

Ivanovic, meanwhile, captured a 6-4, 6-1 triumph over Denmark's Caroline Wozniacki in the third round. The second-seeded Serb was the French Open runner-up last year to the now-retired Justine Henin.

Two other second-round matches were completed Friday, as the tournament got back on schedule following rain earlier in the week.

Russians Vera Zvonareva and Nadia Petrova both advanced to round three. The 11th-seeded Zvonareva cruised to a 6-2, 6-4 triumph over Stephanie Cohen-Aloro of France, while the 25th-seeded Petrova ousted fellow Russian Alisa Kleybanova with a 6-3, 6-3 win.

In third-round play, Petra Cetkovska won a battle of Czechs with a 6-3, 6-3 triumph over Iveta Benesova.

Also scheduled for third-round play on Friday are Serbia's Jelena Jankovic and American Venus Williams. The third-seeded Jankovic is set to meet Dominika Cibulkova of the Slovakia, while the eighth-seeded Williams is slated to take on Italy's Flavia Pennetta.