Associated Press PARIS -- Novak Djokovic will [Derived Headline]

Associated Press PARIS -- Novak Djokovic will leave the lookingahead to others. If he's to be believed, the No. 3-ranked Djokovichas more immediate concerns than a possible French Open semifinalagainst No. 2 Rafael Nadal or final against No. 1 Roger Federer.

First things first at Roland Garros for Djokovic: a quarterfinalagainst Ernests Gulbis, set up by three-set victories for both menSunday. Never heard of Gulbis? Djokovic has. Knows the 19-year-oldkid from Latvia quite well, in fact.

They go way back, having shared adventures on and off the court afew years ago at coach Niki Pilic's tennis academy in Munich,Germany.

"He was destroying me in practices. I couldn't win a match.Practice? No chance," Djokovic said, then added with a wink and asmile: "So all the pressure's on him, OK? He's the favorite."

Sure, Novak. Actually, because their careers have followedcompletely divergent paths, Djokovic knows full well he must beconsidered the overwhelming pick in what will be his firstprofessional meeting with Gulbis.

Djokovic -- who beat No. 18 Paul-Henri Mathieu 6-4, 6-3, 6-4Sunday -- reached the U.S. Open final in September, then knocked offFederer en route to winning the Australian Open in January. He'sreached the semifinals at four consecutive major championships,cementing his status as part of the trio of men head-and-shouldersabove the rest.

"I'm ... a Grand Slam champion. Get a lot of respect andappreciation from the players," said Djokovic, who is 3-7 againstNadal, including exits from the past two French Opens. "It's adifferent approach. I have more confidence and I believe much morein myself."

And Gulbis? He came to Roland Garros with a 7-10 record thisseason and never had been past the fourth round at a Slam untilbeating Michael Llodra 6-4, 7-6 (4), 6-3 on Sunday.

"I played better and better," said the 80th-ranked Gulbis, whoeliminated No. 7 James Blake of the United States in the secondround.

Gulbis used all of his 6-foot-3 frame to uncork 11 aces and 18passing shot winners against Llodra.

"Very powerful serve," Llodra said. "You can't see exactly wherehe's going to serve."

Like Djokovic, Nadal is rather familiar with his next opponent,No. 19 Nicolas Almagro, and had nothing but nice things to say abouthim.

"One of the toughest opponents on clay," Nadal said. "Probablygoing to be my toughest match this week."

The three-time defending champion reached the quarterfinals byhammering out the most lopsided of his 25 consecutive French Openvictories, 6-1, 6-0, 6-2 over No. 22 Fernando Verdasco. Oddlyenough, Nadal's opponents so far this year all were left-handed, thefirst time a man has faced four consecutive southpaws at a GrandSlam tournament in the 40-year Open Era.

That certainly hasn't given Nadal any problems. He did, however,get a bit of a scare while warming up after a 50-minute rain delayone game into the second set. Nadal felt dizzy, and a tournamentofficial, doctor and trainer all came out to check on him.

Almagro was a 7-6 (0), 7-6 (7), 7-5 winner over 145th-rankedJeremy Chardy, a wild-card entry who combined with Mathieu andLlodra to make France 0-3 for the day.

The second set ended with an unusual -- and potentially dangerous-- sight. Angry that he couldn't get to a ball in time afterAlmagro's shot clipped the net, Chardy violently spiked his racket.It bounced 10 feet in the air, cleared the net and landed not farfrom Almagro.

As with the men, all four women's matches Sunday were settled instraight sets. No. 2 Ana Ivanovic had the easiest time, puttingtogether a 6-0, 6-0 victory over Petra Cetkovska, and was joined inthe quarterfinals by No. 3 Jelena Jankovic, No. 10 Patty Schnyderand qualifier Carla Suarez Navarro.

The players responsible for the two biggest surprises of thetournament lost. Schnyder beat No. 27 Katarina Srebotnik, whoeliminated Serena Williams, and Suarez Navarro beat No. 26 FlaviaPennetta, who eliminated Venus Williams.

"I thought the match would probably be a bit more difficult,"said the 132nd-ranked Suarez Navarro, the first woman since 2001 toreach the French Open quarterfinals after needing to qualify for thetournament.

She now meets Jankovic, who got a massage from a trainer for painin her shoulder and neck during a 6-3, 7-6 (3) victory over No. 14Agnieszka Radwanska.

"I was struggling at the end," said Jankovic, who lost fiveconsecutive games in the second set. "I was just trying to guide theball with my arm, which was not enough. I needed to go for it, eventhough I had pain."

And as for her game plan against Suarez?

"Never seen her play before," Jankovic said.

Gulbis is becoming less and less of an unknown quantity, which ishis explanation for a rough second season on tour.

"First year, I was just a newcomer. Nobody knew me. Nobody knewthe way I play. Nobody knew how to play against me," he said. "Nowpeople, players, they already know me a little bit. They know theway I play, so it's a little tougher."

Djokovic will do his best to remember Gulbis' game when they meetTuesday, so he can take another step toward another match againstNadal.

Associated Press PARIS -- Novak Djokovic will [Derived Headline]

Associated Press PARIS -- Novak Djokovic will leave the lookingahead to others. If he's to be believed, the No. 3-ranked Djokovichas more immediate concerns than a possible French Open semifinalagainst No. 2 Rafael Nadal or final against No. 1 Roger Federer.

First things first at Roland Garros for Djokovic: a quarterfinalagainst Ernests Gulbis, set up by three-set victories for both menSunday. Never heard of Gulbis? Djokovic has. Knows the 19-year-oldkid from Latvia quite well, in fact.

They go way back, having shared adventures on and off the court afew years ago at coach Niki Pilic's tennis academy in Munich,Germany.

"He was destroying me in practices. I couldn't win a match.Practice? No chance," Djokovic said, then added with a wink and asmile: "So all the pressure's on him, OK? He's the favorite."

Sure, Novak. Actually, because their careers have followedcompletely divergent paths, Djokovic knows full well he must beconsidered the overwhelming pick in what will be his firstprofessional meeting with Gulbis.

Djokovic -- who beat No. 18 Paul-Henri Mathieu 6-4, 6-3, 6-4Sunday -- reached the U.S. Open final in September, then knocked offFederer en route to winning the Australian Open in January. He'sreached the semifinals at four consecutive major championships,cementing his status as part of the trio of men head-and-shouldersabove the rest.

"I'm ... a Grand Slam champion. Get a lot of respect andappreciation from the players," said Djokovic, who is 3-7 againstNadal, including exits from the past two French Opens. "It's adifferent approach. I have more confidence and I believe much morein myself."

And Gulbis? He came to Roland Garros with a 7-10 record thisseason and never had been past the fourth round at a Slam untilbeating Michael Llodra 6-4, 7-6 (4), 6-3 on Sunday.

"I played better and better," said the 80th-ranked Gulbis, whoeliminated No. 7 James Blake of the United States in the secondround.

Gulbis used all of his 6-foot-3 frame to uncork 11 aces and 18passing shot winners against Llodra.

"Very powerful serve," Llodra said. "You can't see exactly wherehe's going to serve."

Like Djokovic, Nadal is rather familiar with his next opponent,No. 19 Nicolas Almagro, and had nothing but nice things to say abouthim.

"One of the toughest opponents on clay," Nadal said. "Probablygoing to be my toughest match this week."

The three-time defending champion reached the quarterfinals byhammering out the most lopsided of his 25 consecutive French Openvictories, 6-1, 6-0, 6-2 over No. 22 Fernando Verdasco. Oddlyenough, Nadal's opponents so far this year all were left-handed, thefirst time a man has faced four consecutive southpaws at a GrandSlam tournament in the 40-year Open Era.

That certainly hasn't given Nadal any problems. He did, however,get a bit of a scare while warming up after a 50-minute rain delayone game into the second set. Nadal felt dizzy, and a tournamentofficial, doctor and trainer all came out to check on him.

Almagro was a 7-6 (0), 7-6 (7), 7-5 winner over 145th-rankedJeremy Chardy, a wild-card entry who combined with Mathieu andLlodra to make France 0-3 for the day.

The second set ended with an unusual -- and potentially dangerous-- sight. Angry that he couldn't get to a ball in time afterAlmagro's shot clipped the net, Chardy violently spiked his racket.It bounced 10 feet in the air, cleared the net and landed not farfrom Almagro.

As with the men, all four women's matches Sunday were settled instraight sets. No. 2 Ana Ivanovic had the easiest time, puttingtogether a 6-0, 6-0 victory over Petra Cetkovska, and was joined inthe quarterfinals by No. 3 Jelena Jankovic, No. 10 Patty Schnyderand qualifier Carla Suarez Navarro.

The players responsible for the two biggest surprises of thetournament lost. Schnyder beat No. 27 Katarina Srebotnik, whoeliminated Serena Williams, and Suarez Navarro beat No. 26 FlaviaPennetta, who eliminated Venus Williams.

"I thought the match would probably be a bit more difficult,"said the 132nd-ranked Suarez Navarro, the first woman since 2001 toreach the French Open quarterfinals after needing to qualify for thetournament.

She now meets Jankovic, who got a massage from a trainer for painin her shoulder and neck during a 6-3, 7-6 (3) victory over No. 14Agnieszka Radwanska.

"I was struggling at the end," said Jankovic, who lost fiveconsecutive games in the second set. "I was just trying to guide theball with my arm, which was not enough. I needed to go for it, eventhough I had pain."

And as for her game plan against Suarez?

"Never seen her play before," Jankovic said.

Gulbis is becoming less and less of an unknown quantity, which ishis explanation for a rough second season on tour.

"First year, I was just a newcomer. Nobody knew me. Nobody knewthe way I play. Nobody knew how to play against me," he said. "Nowpeople, players, they already know me a little bit. They know theway I play, so it's a little tougher."

Djokovic will do his best to remember Gulbis' game when they meetTuesday, so he can take another step toward another match againstNadal.