Safin spins out

Somehow, despite the defection of Ginger Spice, and the rejection of Gazza, the world managed to keep turning at Roland Garros yesterday. Indeed it was positively in a spin for the young Muscovite Marat Safin.

Leading by two sets to one against France's Cedric Pioline, Safin had visions of a quarterfinal place in this, his first French Open.

At one point, his confidence high, he joined in the Mexican wave that shimmered around the centre court not long after the Brazilian striker Ronaldo had entered the president's box. It was carnival time. Or so Safin hoped.

But Pioline, the runner-up at Wimbledon last year, and a beaten finalist in the US Open in 1993, responded to adversity with some brilliant clay court tennis, notably his ripping backhand, to win 7-5, 4-6, 6-7, 6-4, 6-4 amid tumultuous applause. Safin's time will come.

Hicham Arazi, Pioline's next opponent, is acknowledged as one of the most talented players on the circuit. From the moment he won the first set against Spain's Alberto Berasategui yesterday, with the most delicious of forehand drop shots (seeming to hitch up his shorts halfway through the shot), the force was with the 24year-old Moroccan and he duly won 6-2, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3.

Alex Corretja became the third Spaniard to reach the last eight, and was no doubt thankful, after his marathon against Argentina's Hernan Gumy, of a straight-sets victory over Australia's Jason Stoltenberg.

Corretja now plays Belgium's Filip Dewulf, an even more unlikely semi-finalist in Paris last year. Dewulf clearly has a penchant for the French Open which defies all other form, and had an equally comfortable win over Spain's Francisco Clavet.

There had been overnight unfinished business in the women's fourth round which ended with wins for Iva Majoli and Jana Novotna - together with much talk of bathrooms.

To explain: Anna Kournikova, unable to persuade the umpire to stop her match against Novotna the previous evening because of indifferent light, and trailing 4-2 in the final set, had tried to invoke the bathroom break, but was refused.

The 16-year-old was so upset - or enraged at not getting her own way - that the tears flowed, although yesterday she claimed to have had something wrong with her eyes, as opposed to the umpire's ears.

"This was the first time in my life that I decide to go to a bathroom break," sh4e said. "In the rule book it says a player has the right to take a bathroom break twice and this was the first time I asked in the match.

"I asked the referee twice and he refused and said I had to continue to play. What should I have done? Just walked through? I couldn't beg him in front of 20,000 people and the camera."

The cold light of morning saw Novotna complete a 6-7, 6-3, 6-3 win, but then spring to the defence of Kournikova's rights, as did Majoli.

Two bathroom breaks may be taken per match "when necessary", and are frequently used to upset the rhythm of opponents. But Novotna insisted: "If the rules are there and you know how to use them then why not? You have to do everything you can to win a match."

Majoli, level at one set all against Spain's Conchita Martinez overnight, rediscovered a little of last year's title form to also reach today's quarter-finals. "If I had been in Anna's position last night I would have called the referee and said: `You want me to pee on court?' "

Perish the thought.