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--> --> Henman falls on Paris court PARIS (AP) - Tim Henman's clay-court run ended suddenly Friday, with a third-round loss in five sets to Argentina's Guillermo Canas at the French Open. Canas fell to his knees and shook his fists after the 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 7-5 victory. He closed the match with a forehand winner down the line, breaking Henman for the last time. "He's a great player, and I think that great players can play on any kind of surface," said Canas, whose first title came in April at Casablanca, Morocco. Henman, seeded 11th, has never gotten past the third round in six attempts at the French. Although rarely comfortable on clay, he reached the quarterfinals of the Monte Carlo Masters Series in April, becoming the first British player to do so since 1975. He was 7-4 on clay this season before Friday's loss. Former champion Yevgeny Kafelnikov won his third-round match, downing Belgium's Olivier Rochus 7-6 (1), 6-4, 6-3. "Hopefully, I can accomplish the same success in this tournament that I had a few years ago," said Kafelnikov, the 1996 champion. The seventh-seeded Russian has not won a title on clay since taking the Roland Garros crown. No. 4 Juan Carlos Ferrero dropped his first set of the tournament in beating fellow Spaniard Jacobo Diaz 6-1, 6-7 (2), 6-1, 6-2. Ferrero, nicknamed "Mosquito" for his lanky build, is one of the strongest players on clay this season and could face defending champion Gustavo Kuerten in the semifinals. Proving she is one of the top contenders among the women, Kim Clijsters eliminated Spain's Marta Marrero 6-2, 6-2. The 17-year-old Belgian overwhelmed Marrero, a quarterfinalist last year, with her powerful serve and forehand. Barbara Schett, the unseeded Austrian who beat Venus Williams in her opening match, also advanced Friday, defeating Spaniard Nuria Llagostera 6-0, 4-6, 6-2. Clijsters, seeded 12th, does not face serious competition until the quarterfinals, where she most likely will meet Yugoslav Jelena Dokic. Dokic, seeded 15th, has dropped only three games on her way to the third round. She was to face Hungarian qualifier Petra Mandula on Friday. No. 14 Justine Henin is the only other seeded woman in the bottom half of the draw. Four were eliminated in the opening round, including No. 2 Venus Williams and No. 5 Amelie Mauresmo. No. 7 Elena Dementieva was beaten in the second round. Henin celebrated her 19th birthday in style Friday, defeating French hopeful Virginie Razzano 6-3, 6-4. She faces Schett in the fourth round. Canas will next play rising teen-age star Andy Roddick or No. 6 Lleyton Hewitt. "I love Roddick's game," said occasional hitting partner Andre Agassi. "He doesn't hope for somebody to lose. He really tries to win." "Andy's a tough competitor, but Lleyton is going to make him take a lot of first balls," Agassi said. Agassi breezed through his second-round match Thursday, downing France's Julien Boutter 6-3, 6-2, 6-2. He blew kisses and bowed as the crowd showered him with applause and girlfriend Steffi Graf looked on from the stands. Agassi, seeded third, won the title in 1999 for a career Grand Slam. Pete Sampras failed yet again on the red clay courts of Roland Garros, falling to Spain's Galo Blanco 7-6 (4), 6-3, 6-2 Thursday. The defeat ended Sampras' 12th quest for the one Grand Slam tournament title to elude him. "It's very frustrating," Sampras said. No. 2 Marat Safin - throwing rackets, yelling and clutching his head - scored a 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 6-7 (4), 6-3 victory over Spain's Alex Calatrava. The Russian received a warning for racket abuse in the fourth-set tiebreaker. Email your... Technical questions & comments to: WebMaster Daily Tidings editorial comments & questions to: Editor Visit our other Oregon Newspapers... | Albany Democrat-Herald | Ashland Daily Tidings | Corvallis Gazette-Times | | Lebanon Express | Newport News-Times | Springfield News | Cottage Grove Sentinel | Ashland Daily Tidings 1661 Siskiyou Blvd. Ashland, OR 97520 Telephone 541-482-3456 © Copyright 2001 Lee Northwest Publishing