Differing fortunes for Williams sisters

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Venus Williams, the 26th seed, played her part in one of the matches of the tournament so far, but was nonetheless eliminated in three sets by in-form Serbian Jelena Jankovic on Philippe Chatrier court.

Venus' younger sister, Serena, found things much more comfortable over on Suzanne Lenglen court, the eighth seed dumping out Michaella Krajicek 6-3 6-4.

Elsewhere, reigning champion Justine Henin breezed through to the fourth round thanks to a 6-2 6-3 victory over Mara Santangelo, while sixth-seed Nicole Vaidisova was also a big-name winner as she ousted Australian Samantha Stosur 6-4 6-4.

Jankovic's credentials as a dark horse for the title were further enhanced with her success over Venus Williams. The fourth seed outlasted the American in a spellbinding match to claim a 6-4 4-6 6-1.

The Serbian has tournament triumphs in Auckland, Charleston and Rome under her belt already this season, and she will have to be taken seriously at Roland Garros this year. But she is refusing to contemplate any thoughts about grabbing a first grand-slam title.

"Like I said at the beginning of the tournament, I'm not really thinking about winning the tournament or anything," she said. "I'm just thinking of my next round, especially having had such a difficult draw. Playing Venus in the third round is not something you want to see."

Venus' sibling set up a fourth-round match-up against 10th-seed Dinara Safina, a 3-6 6-3 6-1 winner against Francesca Schiavone. Serena Williams, who is scheduled to face Henin in the quarter-finals, hopes she can up her performance levels for Safina.

"I don't think I played that well today (Friday), but I'm trying not to peak too soon," she said. "I'm going to have to improve some time though. Each round is getting more tough. I am trying to put (thoughts of) the Henin match to one side. Safina is a good player and she'll want to play Henin too."

Henin, the diminutive Belgian, was always in control of her encounter with 28th-seed Santangelo which she won in an hour and 16 minutes as the darkness descended on Roland Garros.