Clijsters ousted; Venus,
Hewitt charge on
Kim Clijsters capitulated while Venus Williams, Lleyton Hewitt and Gustavo Kuerten all bellowed ominous warnings as the fifth day of French Open action got off to an explosive start on Friday.
Fourth seed Clijsters's Roland Garros dreams were blown apart in the third round by a virtually anonymous Argentine as she slumped 6-4, 6-0 to 87th-ranked Clarisa Fernandez.
Runner-up last year and a favourite to go one better this time round, the Belgian never got out of first gear on a sun-baked Court One.
However, second seed Venus Williams, still without a French Open crown, refused to be diverted, blasting aside Italy's Rita Grande 6-1, 6-4 to reach the fourth round.
Defending champion Gustavo Kuerten is beginning to look more and more comfortable as he guns for a third straight crown here and he took out up-and-coming Chilean baseliner Fernando Gonzalez 6-3, 2-6, 7-6, 6-4.
The seventh-seeded Brazilian came into the Open short of match practice after hip surgery in February.
MAGIC RETURNS
But with each match, the Roland Garros magic returns and he is hitting form at the right time.
Clijsters's boyfriend, world number one Hewitt, beat Dutchman Sjeng Schalken 6-1, 7-5, 6-7, 6-1 to also stay on track in the French capital.
An absence of fans, caused by the opening match of the soccer World Cup between France and Senegal, left large gaps in the centre court stands, but Hewitt treated those who did turn up to a gutsy performance.
The Australian will next face either former champion Carlos Moya or Guillermo Canas in the last 16.
Their court one match was suspended when the arena was evacuated because of a bomb scare.
Security officials emptied the court after an unattended briefcase and rain coat were discovered.
Fernandez had earlier shone on court one, playing with great poise throughout the third round match with Clijsters.
She sent the Belgian scampering around the bull-ring arena with a succession of gently-flighted backhands, confidently hitting winners once she had out-manoeuvred her opponent.
SHOULDER INJURY
Clijsters -- who has been troubled for much of the year with a shoulder injury -- appeared ill at ease throughout the 65-minute ordeal.
There was little sign of the grit that saw her push Jennifer Capriati all the way in last year's epic final, although as defeat loomed she tried to dig her heels in.
She saved two match points with identical backhand winners smacked firmly down the line. Fernandez squandered a third with a double fault but eventually, on her fifth, the Argentine sealed victory when Clijsters netted a forehand.
With no sign of the rains which blighted the start of the tournament, second seed Williams made the most of the warm conditions and never let Grande settle in their match.
The Wimbledon and U.S. Open champion operated near her level best during the contest and Grande could only watch in despair as shot after shot flew past her outstretched racket.
A shock first round loser last year, Williams will match her best run at Roland Garros if she defeats either Anne Kremer or Chanda Rubin to reach the quarter-finals.
