Blake is final U.S. male to leave Paris

PARIS -- Irritated by the home crowd's heckling, James Blake took the unusual step of inviting a spectator out of the stands to see for himself that one of French teen Gael Monfils' shots landed out.

In truth, Blake's biggest obstacle Sunday wasn't the fans, it was Monfils himself, a 6-foot-3 blur on the baseline who advanced to the fourth round with a 6-2, 6-7 (2), 7-6 (1), 5-7, 6-4 victory over the last U.S. man in the French Open. Venus Williams is now the only American still playing.

For a while, it looked as if Williams might be joining Blake on the next flight out of town.

But after making 19 unforced errors in the first set against No. 7 Patty Schnyder, Williams came back to win 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, with a lot of success at the net. Had Williams lost, there would have been zero Americans in the quarterfinals at Roland Garros for the first time in the 38-year Open era.

Her quarterfinal opponent will be 17-year-old Nicole Vaidisova of the Czech Republic, a big hitter who eliminated No. 1 Amelie Mauresmo 6-7 (5), 6-1, 6-2. Williams might have caught another break when 2004 Wimbledon champion Maria Sharapova, a possible semifinal opponent, blew a 5-1 lead in the third set and lost 7-5, 2-6, 7-5 to Dinara Safina.

Top-ranked Roger Federer moved a step closer to completing a noncalendar Grand Slam by beating No. 20 Tomas Berdych 6-3, 6-2, 6-3.

-- AP