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BERLIN – Top-ranked Justine Henin was upset by Dinara Safina 5-7, 6-3, 6-1 Thursday in the third round of the German Open, derailing efforts to regain form ahead of the French Open.

Serena Williams breezed to her 17th straight win, ousting Agnieszka Radwanska 6-3, 6-1 to reach the quarterfinals. Defending champion Ana Ivanovic struggled past Sybille Bammer 7-5, 4-6, 5-4 and third-seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova lost to Alona Bondarenko 1-6, 6-2, 6-2.

Henin’s loss to the 17th-ranked Russian followed a 6-2, 6-0 drubbing by Williams at the Sony Ericsson Open last month, the worst for a No. 1 player in nine years. Maria Sharapova also defeated her in straight sets at the Australian Open.

Henin returned from a month off with a knee injury hoping to restore her confidence in time to win a fifth French Open title.

“Not only for the French, I really wanted to use this tournament to get my confidence back,” Henin said. “But it was not enough today – now we’ll see the next few weeks.”

Fourth-seeded Jelena Jankovic advanced 6-2, 6-4 against Maria Kirilenko, along with No. 7 Elena Dementieva, who beat Vera Dushevina 7-5, 6-3. Tenth-seeded Agnes Szavay defeated No. 8 Marion Bartoli, 7-5, 7-5.

Roddick, Blake advance

ROME – Andy Roddick and James Blake advanced to the quarterfinals of the Rome Masters, marking the first time in six years two Americans reached the final eight.

Roddick silenced a partisan crowd with a 7-6 (5), 6-3 win over Simone Bolelli of Italy, and Blake rallied past Fernando Verdasco of Spain 5-7, 7-5, 6-2.

Top-ranked Roger Federer defeated towering Ivo Karlovic 7-6 (4), 6-3 on clay, and the American’s victories – on their weakest surface – came a day after three-time defending champion Rafael Nadal was ousted.

Federer will next face Radek Stepanek, who defeated Peruvian qualifier Luis Horna 6-4, 1-6, 6-3.

Novak Djokovic also advanced with a 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 win against Igor Andreev.

Compiled from Advocate Wire Reports

WTA Tour Qatar Telecom German Open

At LTTC Rot-Weiss

Berlin

Purse: $1.34 million (Tier I)

Surface: Clay-Outdoor

Singles Third Round

Elena Dementieva, Russia, def. Vera Dushevina, Russia, 7-5, 6-3.

Dinara Safina (13), Russia, def. Justine Henin (1), Belgium, 5-7, 6-3, 6-1.

Victoria Azarenka, Belarus, def. Gisela Dulko, Argentina, 6-3, 6-1.

Alona Bondarenko (15), Ukraine, def. Svetlana Kuznetsova (3), Russia, 1-6, 6-2, 6-2.

Serena Williams (5), United States, def. Agnieszka Radwanska (11), Poland, 6-3, 6-1.

Jelena Jankovic (4), Serbia, def. Maria Kirilenko, Russia, 6-2, 6-4.

Ana Ivanovic (2), Serbia, def. Sybille Bammer, Austria, 7-5, 4-6, 6-4.

ATP Internazionali BNL d'Italia

At Foro Italico

Rome

Purse: $3.5 million (Masters)

Surface: Clay-Outdoor

Singles

Third Round

Novak Djokovic (3), Serbia, def. Igor Andreev, Russia, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3.

Radek Stepanek, Czech Republic, def. Luis Horna, Peru, 6-4, 1-6, 6-3.

Nicolas Almagro, Spain, def. Fernando Gonzalez (12), Chile, walkover.

Roger Federer (1), Switzerland, def. Ivo Karlovic, Croatia, 7-6 (4), 6-3.

Andy Roddick (6), United States, def. Simone Bolelli, Italy, 7-6 (5), 6-3.

James Blake (8), United States, def. Fernando Verdasco, Spain, 5-7, 7-5, 6-2.

Stanislas Wawrinka, Switzerland, def. Juan Carlos Ferrero, Spain, 6-4, 6-3.

Tommy Robredo (14), Spain, def. Nikolay Davydenko (4), Russia, 4-6, 6-2, 7-6 (4).