Venus, Sharapova ousted at French Open

PARIS - So much for the thought that this might be the year Venus Williams would make a strong showing at the French Open.

So much for the thought that she and her younger sister Serena, the tournament's two top-seeded women, could deliver another all-Williams major singles final.

Displaying little of the spark or strokes she regularly produces on grass and hard courts, and playing little like someone with the tour's best 2010 winning percentage, Williams stalled on the red clay of Roland Garros yet again, exiting in the fourth round Sunday with a 6-4, 6-3 loss to No. 19 Nadia Petrova.

"I don't think the conditions are always ideal here . . . You might not be used to it or you might not get a good bounce," said the No. 2-seeded Williams, who began the day 29-4 this season, including 15-2 on clay. "That's just the way this tournament goes."

For her, anyway. The American's seven major singles titles all came at Wimbledon or the U.S. Open, and only once has she made it to the semifinals in 14 French Open appearances - back in 2002, when she lost to Serena in the championship match.

Williams complained about the temperatures in the 50s and swirling winds that reached 15 mph, and wore a long-sleeved top over her much-discussed black lace dress. She didn't exactly heap praise on Petrova.

"I don't think she did anything super special," Williams said, "but she just played a little bit more consistently."

Petrova will face No. 5 Elena Dementieva in a quarterfinal. Dementieva ended the surprising stay of 131st-ranked qualifier Chanelle Scheepers, the first South African woman in the fourth round at Roland Garros since 1997, by winning, 6-1, 6-3.

No. 3 Caroline Wozniacki will play No. 17 Francesca Schiavone in another quarterfinal. Wozniacki, runner-up at last year's U.S. Open, scraped together a 7-6 (5), 6-7 (4), 6-2 victory over No. 14 Flavia Pennetta, and Schiavone eliminated No. 30 Maria Kirilenko, 6-4, 6-4.

None of those encounters featured the big names or big-stage experience of the third-round match between four-time champion Justine Henin and Maria Sharapova, which resumed Sunday after being suspended because of darkness a night earlier.

Sharapova began the third set strongly, taking 11 of the first 15 points. But when facing an 0-2, love-40 deficit, Henin began playing more aggressively and swung the momentum, taking four consecutive games on the way to winning 6-2, 3-6, 6-3, her 24th consecutive victory at the French Open.

There was little suspense in men's action, although there was a mild upset: No. 15 Tomas Berdych beat No. 4 Andy Murray, 6-4, 7-5, 6-3.

Defending champion Roger Federer won in straight sets for the fourth consecutive round, dismissing No. 20 Stanislas Wawrinka, 6-3, 7-6 (5), 6-2, in a matchup between countrymen.