Hewitt undone by cunning of Canas in four-hour marathon

French Open: World No 1 worn down by Argentinian's powers of recovery as Costa ends Kuerten's reign

Impressive though women's tennis can be at the top level, the WTA's finest would be pressed to match the shot-making and determination displayed by Guillermo Canas and Lleyton Hewitt for four hours and 13 minutes on Suzanne Lenglen Court at the French Open here yesterday.

Canas, the compact 15th seed from Argentina, prevailed, 6-7, 7-6, 6-4, 6-3. It was his second consecutive marathon. Last Friday he was on court for four hours and 28 minutes against Carlos Moya, of Spain, the 1998 champion, whom he defeated in five sets.

Hewitt, the Australian world No 1, demonstrated his disappointment by belting courtside flowers with his racket as he left the arena. He was bound to be frustrated after losing the contest having secured the second set tie-break, 15-13. That set alone lasted 91 minutes.

It was not the first time Hewitt had marvelled at Canas' powers of recovery. "You've got to take your hat off to him," he said. "He's very strong out there. You think he's looking a bit tired, then he bounces back. I played him last year in five sets here. I've seen him in the Davis Cup. I think he even goes a little bit foxy. In the Davis Cup, when Scott Draper was playing him, he looked like he was down and out at the end of the third set. Then he bounced back somehow."

Yesterday, we also saw the end of Gustavo Kuerten's quest to win the title for the third time in a row. The Brazilian, who came into the tournament less well prepared than usual after recovering from hip surgery, was beaten by the persistent Albert Costa of Spain, 6-4, 7-5, 6-4. Costa, the 20th seed, now plays Canas for a place in the semi-finals.

"I was battling against a tough opponent and against myself, too," Kuerten said. "I'm not at the top of my game, but I tried to fight as much as I could and maybe I got too close to my limit. Albert played a very precise match, but I'm proud of the effort I put into the tournament."

In the women's singles, it was more Groundhog Day than déjà vu. Elena Dementieva, of Russia, the 13th seed, served two games in a row against Clarisa Fernandez, of Argentina, in the fourth round of the women's singles at the French Open yesterday – and was broken both times.

Nobody noticed: not the British umpire, Jane Harvey, not the line judges, not the players, not the spectators.

The sequence of events leading to the confusion on Court One was as follows: Fernandez broke Dementieva to win the second set, 6-2, and then took a bathroom break. About seven minutes later, when Fernandez returned to the court, Dementieva changed ends, saw the balls were there, picked them up, served, and was broken again at the start of the third set.

Fernandez held for 2-0, and when Dementieva stepped up to serve for the third time in four games, umpire Harvey realised a mistake had been made but by now nothing could be done to change it. Fernadez went on to win a place in the quarter-finals, 3-6, 6-2, 6-3.

Asked about Dementieva's double-whammy, a spokesperson for the International Tennis Federation said: "It was an honest mistake by an experienced and highly respected umpire."

The 20-year-old Fernandez, competing for the first time in the main draw at Roland Garros, will now play an Argentinian compatriot, Paola Suarez, who eliminated Amelie Mauresmo, of France, the tenth seed, 6-2, 2-6, 6-4.

"No Argentinian women has ever won at Roland Garros, but we have had very good players in the past," Fernandez said. "I feel relaxed, and I am going to do my utmost throughout the week." Fernandez, ranked No 87 in the world, defeated Kim Clijsters, of Belgium, in the fourth round, 6-4, 6-0. Although the victory was deserved, Fernandez was fortunate to catch Clijsters on a day when she was too weary to seize her opportunities.

Aside from Dementieva's aberration in serving out of turn, Fernandez required no assistance yesterday. "I feel very confident about my game, and I think that I could win against almost any opponent," she said.

The women's tournament is gathering momentum, with quarter-final duels to be fought between Venus Williams and Monica Seles on one side of the draw and Serena Williams and Mary Pierce on the other. Jelena Dokic will play either Jennifer Capriati, the top seed and defending champion, or Patty Schnyder, of Switzerland, the 20th seed.

Serena Williams lost the opening set of her fourth round match against Vera Zvonareva, a 17-year-old Russian qualifier, and responded by blitzing through the second and third sets to win, 4-6, 6-0, 6-1. Her older sister Venus proved too strong for Chanda Rubin, an American compatriot, winning, 6-4, 7-5.

With due respect to Fernandez and Suarez, the most impressive display in the women's singles yesterday came from the 28-year-old Seles. The former champion, seeded six, defeated the talented 19-year-old Daniela Hantuchova, of Slovakia, 6-4, 7-5. As Seles said afterwards: "Daniela has a beautiful, fluid game, a great serve, and she moves well. We're going to se a lot more of her, winning these Grand Slams, very soon."

Hantuchova, the 11th seed, acknowledged that competing against Seles showed her that she still has a lot to learn.

Seles had only beaten Venus Williams once in seven previous matches, her victory coming the last time they met, in the quarter-finals of the Australian Open in January. This will be their first meeting on clay.

"Going into Australia," Seles recalled, "I was a lot better prepared than I was coming here, but that was out of my control. On certain court surfaces, Venus has a big advantage with her serve and movement against a person like me. So I have to neutralise that with a few other things. I think I was able to do that in Australia."

* Boris Becker, the former Wimbledon champion, is to play in the inaugural Boodle and Dunthorne Champions Challenge at Stoke Park Club, Stoke Poges, from 19-20 June. Mark Philippoussis, Alex Corretja, Nicolas Lapentti, James Blake, Max Mirnyi, Gaston Gaudio and Xavier Malisse have also entered.