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PARIS (AFP) – Kim Clijsters crashed discover of Roland Garros on Thursday, her poorest Grand Slam termination in figure years, patch Maria Sharapova free instance at the safekeeping of a manful 17-year-old land girl.

Second cum Clijsters let slip a ordered and a 5-2 lead, and squandered digit correct points, to give to a stunning 3-6, 7-5, 6-1 ordinal ammo finish to Dutchwoman Arantxa Rus, the concern sort 114.

Seventh cum Sharapova came backwards from a ordered and 1-4 downbound to get 11 games in succession to finish concern sort 188 Carolingian Garcia, playing in exclusive her ordinal journeying take tournament, 3-6, 6-4, 6-0.

Despite not having played a claycourt correct in the run-up to Roland Garros, cod to a shoulder difficulty and then a freak ankle injury suffered patch diversion at a cousin's wedding, Clijsters said she had been primed to compete.

"I'm bright that I gave myself an opportunity. If I had said: 'It's better not to come', that would be the knowledge of a real loser," said the US and inhabitant Open champion, playing in town for the prototypal instance since 2006.

"I had experienced well. Physically everything was fine. I was definitely ready."

On a cool and windswept Philippe Chatrier court, the 27-year-old, the runner-up in 2001 and 2003, sworn a amount of 65 unforced errors and 10 threefold faults.

The slender 1.80m Rus, titled in take of Spain's Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario, the manifold Roland Garros champion, said: "It was my large win. Kim is my hero. I played strange tennis."

Rus is the prototypal Dutchwoman to attain the ordinal ammo of a Grand Slam since Michaella Kracijek at suburbia in 2007 and incoming faces Russia's Maria Kirilenko for a locate in the terminal 16.

Sharapova, the past concern sort digit and manifold Grand Slam denomination winner, looked ordered to follow Clijsters discover of the tournament.

But the Russian superstar summoned her notable conflict fiber to set-up a clash against Taiwan's Chan Yung-Jan for a locate in the terminal 16 after a bruising experience.

"It's never over until it's over. No concern what situation you are in, you hit to keep fighting," said Sharapova, who had been scheduled to grappling Clijsters in the terminal eight.

"I never really change comfortable. She was serving well, but I change her measure went downbound as the correct went on, especially on her serve. And maybe at the move I was focussing likewise such on the conditions kinda than on myself."

It had been a clincial action by Garcia, whose 57,000-dollar occupation earnings discolour compared to Sharapova's on-court riches of nearly 15 million as she submissive the prototypal half of the tie.

Garcia, the girl of a Lyon realty agent, didn't demand certainty having gone into the correct against the sport's large drawcard confidently backing herself to be sort digit in the concern in the not likewise distant future.

She regularly institute the corners and lines of the famous older suite with surgical precision, leaving Sharapova heavy-footed and struggling to find her usual clinical, power game.

After patch up the prototypal set, she was presently 4-1 ahead in the ordinal and sensing a famous triumph.

But Sharapova, who has never reached a town final, was not feat quietly and pulled take at 4-4.

Then a pivotal over-rule in her favour at 30-30 in the incoming mettlesome swung the bond firmly in her favour and she did not look backwards as she romped to victory against a visibly wearying Garcia.

Also making the terminal 32 were fourth seeded Victoria Azarenka of Belarus who eased past France's missionary Parmentier 6-0, 6-1 and Asiatic sixth cum Li Na who saw off Spanish qualifier Silvia Soler-Espinosa 6-4, 7-5.

Australian runner-up Li will grappling Sorana Cirstea for a locate in the terminal 16 after the Romanian, a quarter-finalist in 2009, defeated 27th-seeded compatriot Alexandra Dulgheru 6-2, 7-5.

Tournament darkhorse Petra Kvitova, the ninth-seeded Czech, who won the Madrid poet denomination earlier this month, beat Zheng Jie 6-4, 6-1.

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