PARIS, 3 June 2003 — Champion Albert Costa led a Latin charge into the quarterfinals of the French Open yesterday, dashing local hopes with a no-nonsense win over Arnaud Clement.

After three exhausting back-to-back fiveset marathons, the ninth-seeded Spaniard saw off his French opponent 6-2, 7-5, 7-5 in three hours seven minutes.

It was a solid performance that vaulted Costa into the last eight — the fifth Spanishspeaker to reach the quarterfinals at this year’s tournament.

Earlier, on a rain-delayed day eight, third seed Juan Carlos Ferrero beat fellow Spaniard Felix Mantilla to advance, Chile’s Fernando Gonzalez ousted Finn Jarkko Nieminen and Guillermo Coria beat Mariano Zabaleta in an all-Argentine clash.

They joined former champion Carlos Moya of Spain, Andre Agassi and Dutchman Martin Verkerk, who reached the quarters on Sunday.

Spaniard Tommy Robredo faces Brazilian Gustavo Kuerten in the final fourth round match later, ensuring a sixth Latin will advance.

Whether the sixth will be a Spanish or a Portuguese speaker depends on whether Robredo can repeat his heroics of the third round when he beat world number one Lleyton Hewitt.

Of the Spaniards, Costa had looked the shakiest entering the fourth round after his exhausting schedule and his poor form this year.

He kept number 32 seed Clement on the back foot throughout, though, to advance in straightforward fashion.

Ferrero thrashed Mantilla 6-2, 6-1, 6-1.

Last year’s losing finalist, he spent only 100 minutes on court.

“I did not make any mistakes today,” he said.

“It is not easy to play like this and I hope to play the rest of the tournament like this.

It would be fantastic.

“I’m very fresh because I didn’t play long matches,” said the ‘Mosquito’, whose second round opponent Nicolas Massu of Chile pulled out injured.

In the last eight, Ferrero will meet Gonzalez who beat Nieminen 6-3, 6-3, 6-2 in the first grand slam match between a Finn and a Chilean.

That clash will be a re-match of the 1998 boys’ singles final here, which Gonzalez won 4-6, 6-4, 6-3.

The Chilean also beat Ferrero twice last year.

Mauresmo Aims to Knock Serena Off Track With transport strikes poised to paralyse France, Amelie Mauresmo will attempt to derail the Serena express speeding toward a fifth consecutive Grand Slam.

The French world number five has thrilled her home crowd this year and today, when the rest of France is due to grind to a halt, will play her first Roland Garros quarterfinal.

She will not be cowed by the sight of world number one Serena Williams across the net.

This year Mauresmo has broken two jinxes, by roaring into the second week of her home tournament after several jittery years and by overcoming her Williams complex.

She achieved the latter by beating Venus in Warsaw in May and Serena in Rome a week before the French Open began.

Confident and looking solid, Mauresmo is nonetheless realistic about her chances of beating the defending champion today.

“If she plays her best tennis and does not make any unforced errors of course I can’t beat her,” the Frenchwoman freely admitted.

Mauresmo may be cheered by Vera Zvonareva’s heroics in the last round when the Russian teenager beat Serena’s elder sister Venus.

Zvonerova’s feat was almost matched by compatriot Nadia Petrova who ousted former champion Jennifer Capriati in the last round.

The two Russians meet for a place in the semis in what should be an intriguing contest, especially as Zvonerova had previously maintained that her most memorable experience was losing 6-0, 6-0 to Petrova when she was eight-years-old.

Belgium’s Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin-Hardenne will also be in action, both looking for a spot in the semifinals.