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Graf, Seles and Davenport too good

Steffi Graf, Monica Seles and Lindsay Davenport posted straight set victories to storm into the last 16 of the French Open Tennis Championships at Roland Garros on Saturday.

The three, playing simultaneously on different courts, appeared to be having a private contest to see who could finish their third round matches first. By that token, Seles was the winner, dismissing Spain's Maria Antonia Sanchez Lorenzo 6-1, 6-4 in just 67 minutes.

But the Yugoslav-born American, who won the French Open thirce, between 1990 and 1992, and who reached the final last year, did not rate her performances in the tournament too highly.

"Five out of ten," she answered, when asked to give herself marks for her showing thus far.

It took Graf a little bit more time - 79 minutes - to crush Asa Carlsson because the young Swede broke the five-times French Open champion back as the German was serving for the match at 5-2. Two games later, Graf, who is back in Paris after a one-year absence, did hold serve to wrap it up.

"It was on and off today," she said about her match.

Davenport, the second seed, needed 84 minutes to beat Colombian Fabiola Zuluaga 7-6, 6-3.

The American U.S. Open champion, who fought her way through a tough three-set contest against Belgian hopeful Justine Henin in the previous round, was made to struggle in the first set. She saved four set points before winning the tie-break when her inexperienced opponent doublefaulted.

The blunder saved Davenport but devastated Zuluaga, who lost ground and bowed out on a blistering backhand down the line from Davenport.

Agencies