Mauresmo eliminated on the clay of Roland Garros at French Open

The courts at the French Open have always had a certain something that just makes it too tough for Amelie Mauresmo to succeed.

"Clay," the two-time Grand Slam champion said wryly. "That's the first thing."

Mauresmo, seeded 22nd at Roland Garros, bowed out in the second round Thursday with a 6-3, 6-4 loss to Carla Suarez Navarro.

The former No. 1 missed both the Italian and German Opens with a rib injury and then struggled to get through the first round in three sets. In the second round, she had little left to give against her 132nd-ranked opponent.

"I've not had enough time to develop what I wanted to implement, and there's nothing more I can add," Mauresmo said. "It's a bit difficult for me to analyze all this. And all I can say is that I feel sorry about the way I played, especially from a tactical standpoint."

On Friday, top-seeded Maria Sharapova was scheduled to complete her match against Bethanie Mattek of the United States. Second-seeded Ana Ivanovic, No. 3 Jelena Jankovic and No. 5 Serena Williams were also to play on Day 6.

On the men's side, three-time defending champion Rafael Nadal was scheduled to play for the fourth straight day. No. 3 Novak Djokovic was also to play in the third round against Wayne Odesnik of the United States.

Suarez, a 19-year-old Spaniard who is making her Grand Slam debut, kept Mauresmo moving around center court with long rallies.

"I knew more or less that's what type of game she would produce," Mauresmo said. "But I should have done what I managed to do for a couple of games in the second set: hit the ball earlier and play passing shots even if, in that case, my percentage would have been slightly worse.

"This was my tactic before I got on the court, and I did not go by this plan enough."

Mauresmo won the Australian Open in 2006 and followed that with a Wimbledon title a few months later. But she has struggled at the French Open, where her best results are a pair of quarterfinal appearances in 2003 and '04.

Still, the 28-year-old Frenchwoman is still looking forward to another shot at the title at the All England Club.

"I hope ... my tennis will be better, and I hope that from a physical standpoint I'll be OK," Mauresmo said.

Roger Federer and Nadal advanced to the third round despite first-set scares.

The two highest-seeded men at the French Open responded to the challenge by reeling off game after game to move into the third round.

Although Federer wasn't broken, he lost the first set in a tiebreaker before beating Albert Montanes of Spain 6-7 (5), 6-1, 6-0, 6-4. Nadal faced a close call in the first set, but the three-time defending champion still beat Nicolas Devilder of France 6-4, 6-0, 6-1 to improve to 23-0 at Roland Garros.

"It was tough going down a set, but reaction was good and bounced back strong," Federer said. "Played really well after that."

Seventh-seeded James Blake lost to 19-year-old Ernests Gulbis of Latvia 7-6 (2), 3-6, 7-5, 6-3, and sixth-seeded David Nalbandian was upset by Jeremy Chardy of France 3-6, 4-6, 6-2, 6-1, 6-2.

In a pair of routs, No. 5 David Ferrer beat Fabrice Sabtoro of France 6-0, 6-1, 6-0, and No. 16 Victoria Azarenka defeated Sorana-Mihaela Cirstea 6-0, 6-0.

Venus Williams and Jankovic reached the third round, one easing through her match and the other playing through pain.

The eighth-seeded Williams used a six-game run to beat 241st-ranked qualifier Selima Sfar of Tunisia 6-2, 6-4. Jankovic, seeded third and a semifinalist at Roland Garros last year, was bothered by a right arm injury but defeated Marina Erakovic of New Zealand 6-2, 7-6 (5).