PARIS — On days like these, when so little goes right and so much goes awry, Maria Sharapova tosses away the strategies and scouting reports her coach devises and does whatever it takes to win.
Locked in a 3-hour struggle at a wet and windy French Open on Monday, Sharapova endured 12 double-faults and moved into the quarterfinals with 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-2 victory over 44th-ranked Klara Zakopalova.
“I’m useless with game plans. That’s probably the one thing (Coach Thomas Hogstedt) just gets so frustrated with me about,” Sharapova said. “I go out there and I do my own thing, and then he’s like, after the match, ‘Really? What’s the point? I mean,what’s the point of having me?’ But I apologized when I hired him, in advance, so he’s OK.”
Hogstedt’s take?
“It’s good we have a day off tomorrow [Tuesday] so we can step it up again,” he said. “This was clearly a match where she was not playing as well as she should.”
Sharapova and Hogstedt both said her sore wrist, which she repeatedly flexed during the match, shouldn’t be an issue. Something else that might not be? The opposition. It seems that nearly every day a potential roadblock is swept out of the draw, from Serena Williams, to Francesca Schiavone, to Li Na.
Sharapova’s next opponent, No. 23 Kaia Kanepi, hasn’t been beyond the quarterfinals at any Grand Slam tournament, but got to that round for the fourth time by defeating unseeded Arantxa Rus 6-1, 4-6, 6-0.
Asked whether she thinks she can beat three-time major champion Sharapova, Kanepi replied: “If I play well, of course. Why not?”
Defending champion Li’s surprising exit came against Yaroslava Shvedova, a doubles specialist ranked 142nd in singles who needed to go through qualifying rounds to enter the main draw.
“I have to find the reason why I lose the match,” Li said. “I will find out. But not today.”
Shvedova dropped to her knees after taking the last 10 games to eliminate the seventh-seeded Li 3-6, 6-2, 6-0 and become the ninth qualifier to reach the French Open quarterfinals. She’d be the first to make it to the semifinals if she beats Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova, who ended the career-best run of unseeded American Varvara Lepchenko 6-2, 6-1.
“Even if some thoughts come to my head, I will try to put them away and focus on what I need to do,” said Shvedova, who won doubles titles at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open with Vania King of the U.S. in 2010.
There are no out-of-nowhere stories like hers among the remaining men. It’s the first Grand Slam tournament since the 1984 French Open with all top six seeded men in the quarterfinals.
Rafael Nadal’s pursuit of a record seventh French Open title rolled on with another rout, this one a 6-2, 6-0, 6-0 victory over Juan Monaco.
“I feel really comfortable, really at ease,” Nadal said. “When the tournament is over, I’ll tell you if this was my best Roland Garros or not. For the time being, I’m still playing. So far, so good. But we’ll see. Things could change.”
He’ll take a 7-0 head-to head record into an all-Spanish quarterfinal against No. 12 Nicolas Almagro, who beat No. 8 Janko Tipsarevic 6-4, 6-4, 6-4.
Three-time major finalist Andy Murray ignored a poor start, a still-bothersome back and beat Richard Gasquet 1-6, 6-4, 6-1, 6-2. Next for Murray is a quarterfinal against No. 6 David Ferrer, who overwhelmed No. 20 Marcel Granollers 6-3, 6-2, 6-0.
In two matches halted in progress Sunday night by darkness, No. 5 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga finished off No. 18 Stanislas Wawrinka 6-4, 7-6 (6), 3-6, 3-6, 6-4, while No. 9 Juan Martin del Potro defeated No. 7 Tomas Berdych 7-6 (6), 1-6, 6-3, 7-5. Tsonga now plays No. 1 NovakDjokovic today in a rematch of the 2008 Australian Open final. Del Potro set up a rematch of the 2009 U.S. Open final he won against 16-time major champion Roger Federer.
At a glance
PARIS - A look at the French Open on Monday: WEATHER Cloudy, windy, with brief rain.
High of 61 degrees.
ATTENDANCE 26,932.
MEN’S SEEDED WINNERS No. 2 Rafael Nadal, No. 4 Andy Murray, No. 5 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, No. 6 David Ferrer, No. 9 Juan Martin del Potro, No. 12 Nicolas Almagro.
MEN’S SEEDED LOSERS No. 7 Tomas Berdych, No. 8 Janko Tipsarevic, No. 13 Juan Monaco, No. 17 Richard Gasquet, No. 18 Stanislas Wawrinka, No. 20 Marcel Granollers.
WOMEN’S SEEDED WINNERS No. 2 Maria Sharapova, No. 4 Petra Kvitova, No. 23 Kaia Kanepi.
WOMEN’S SEEDED LOSER No. 7 Li Na.
STAT OF THE DAY 19 - Games lost by Nadal so far, the fewest through four rounds at the French Open since Guillermo Vilas’ 16 in 1982.
QUOTE OF THE DAY “It was drizzling, which never helps a guy like me who’s wearing glasses on court.” - Tipsarevic, after his 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 loss to Almagro.
ON COURT TUESDAY No. 1 Novak Djokovic vs. No. 5 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga;
No. 3 Roger Federer vs. No. 9 Juan Martin del Potro; No. 6 Sam Stosur vs. No.
15 Dominika Cibulkova; No. 10 Angelique Kerber vs. No. 21 Sara Errani.
TODAY’S FORECAST Cloudy and windy, with a chance of rain. High of 64 degrees.
Sports, Pages 20 on 06/05/2012