Moya, Djokovic Advance At French Open

PARIS (AP) _ Carlos Moya overcame his relative inexperience to beat Jonas Bjorkman at the French Open. <br/><br/>A Roland Garros perennial, Moya was nonetheless the younger player Monday, and he advanced

Monday, June 4th 2007, 7:33 am

By: News On 6

PARIS (AP) _ Carlos Moya overcame his relative inexperience to beat Jonas Bjorkman at the French Open.

A Roland Garros perennial, Moya was nonetheless the younger player Monday, and he advanced to the quarterfinals by beating the 35-year-old Bjorkman 7-6 (5), 6-2, 7-5.

Wearing a sleeveless shirt and his cap backward, the 30-year-old Moya hardly looked like an old-timer. But he became the oldest man to reach the final eight at the French Open since Andre Agassi in 2003.

Moya won the title in 1998 and is playing in the tournament for the 12th year in a row.

``Now I'm the oldest guy in the field,'' he said. ``I still remember when I was the youngest guy in the draw, and now I became the oldest. Time passed so fast. ... When you're younger, maybe you don't value things as I do now. I enjoy more now.''

Also advancing was 20-year-old Novak Djokovic, who beat unseeded Fernando Verdasco 6-3, 6-3, 7-6 (1) to reach the quarterfinals for the second consecutive year.

``Last year, I honestly didn't expect to be in the quarterfinals,'' Djokovic said. ``I was pretty much satisfied with my achievement. This year is much different.''

Bjorkman, the oldest man in the 128-player draw, overcame deficits of two sets to none in the first two rounds. This time, he was the one squandering leads.

The unseeded Swede was ahead 5-2 in the opening set but lost the next four games. He broke serve for 6-all and led 5-3 in the tiebreaker before Moya swept the final four points, the last with a net cord winner.

Bjorkman began to show signs of wear after losing the second set, when he needed a shoulder massage from a trainer.

``You know, I'm 35,'' Bjorkman said. ``My shoulder just got more tired than it normally does. ... This is a great day. I obviously surprised myself to make the fourth round.''

He lost serve in the final game, pushing a tired backhand into the net on match point.

The No. 23-seeded Moya, long known for his Popeye-size right biceps, hit 21 forehand winners to three for Bjorkman, and the disparity helped the Spaniard save 11 of the 14 break points he faced. Bjorkman came forward frequently, but Moya often responded with pinpoint passing shots.

Moya reached the quarterfinals for the fourth time, but the first time since 2004.

``It's much less pressure for me when everybody is talking about Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer, and nobody is talking about you,'' he said. ``It helps you.''

Like Moya, the No. 6-seeded Djokovic benefited from a lucky bounce on an important point. It came in the tiebreaker, when his backhand kissed the net cord before dropping for a winner.

Djokovic crossed himself in gratitude. Verdasco retrieved the ball and put it in his courtside bag, prompting laughter from the crowd.

Verdasco shanked a forehand on match point, a fitting finish. The big-swinging Spaniard committed 50 unforced errors.

By the middle of the second set, when Djokovic led 4-0, he had a frustrated Verdasco talking to himself.

``I was stepping in more, and I was being aggressive,'' Djokovic said. ``I played the best tennis in the important moments.''

Djokovic, two points from defeat in a five-set win Saturday over Olivier Patience, will next play the winner of the match between No. 16 Marcos Baghdatis and unseeded Igor Andreev. Moya will play the winner of the match between two-time defending champion Nadal, seeded second, and No. 14 Lleyton Hewitt.

In the women's quarterfinals Tuesday, two-time defending champion Justine Henin will face eight-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams in a rematch of their contentious 2003 semifinal at Roland Garros.

Williams advanced Sunday by beating No. 10 Dinara Safina. Henin defeated No. 20 Sybille Bammer 6-2, 6-4.

Jelena Jankovic and Nicole Vaidisova meet for the other semifinal spot in the top half of the draw. The bottom half includes three Russians _ Maria Sharapova will play Anna Chakvetadze, and Svetlana Kuznetsova faces Serbian Ana Ivanovic.