For Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, Paris has become a lonely place.

After a day of upsets, the world no. 1 and the sensational Spanish teenager are the last of the top eight seeds remaining with three rounds to go at the French Open. Surrounding them are a cast of characters who began this tournament with long odds and not a single Grand Slam title among them: Victor Hanescu, David Ferrer, Tommy Robredo, Nikolay Davydenko, Guillermo Canas, and Mariano Puerta. Only Argentina’s Canas is seeded among the top 10 (at no.9),while his countryman Puerta and Romania’s Hanescu are unseeded.

Yesterday, defending champion Gaston Gaudio, defending runner-up Guillermo Coria, and Australian Open champ Marat Safin each flopped in the role of favorite, leaving the bottom half of the draw wide open.

Gaudio blew a 4-0 lead in the fifth set to Spain’s Ferrer, losing 2-6, 6-4, 7-6 (5), 5-7, 6-4. The usually steady Coria committed 53 unforced errors against only 23 winners to drop a 2-6, 6-3, 7-6 (1), 6-2 match to Russia’s Davydenko, who played aggressively, hitting 48 winners and 73 unforced errors. Afterward, both Argentineans sounded as if they had expected to lose.

“Since I’ve started this tournament, I haven’t always felt that I’ve been playing very well,” said Gaudio, who had several chances to take a 5-3 lead but couldn’t convert. “I knew that if I continued playing like that, I wouldn’t be able to win again.”

Coria, who had a set point in the third set, said much the same: “The people who are working with me knew that I wasn’t playing very well, and it would be very difficult to go to the end.”

While the Argentines anticipated their demise, rest assured that no one knew Safin would lose to Robredo in five sets, 7-5, 1-6, 6-1, 4-6, 8-6. Nothing is ever predictable with Safin, the immensely talented Russian who either bludgeons the ball with uncanny precision or berates himself for swinging like an amateur.

Against Robredo, Safin showed flashes of the form that won him the Australian title, but too often played like the man who couldn’t escape the third round in a single tournament from February through May. His trademark temper was on display, too, costing him a warning in the third set when he smashed his racket through the base of his chair on the sidelines.

Overall, it was a sloppy affair that included nearly four full sets of crummy tennis. In the fifth, Robredo and Safin traded breaks to go to 3-3. At 6-6, though, Safin gave Ferrer the lead for good by double-faulting on break point.

When Federer and Nadal take the court today, expect a lot more confidence than was displayed by yesterday’s upset victims. Hanescu did Federer a favor by beating his frequent nemesis, Argentina’s David Nalbandian, and chances are Federer will thank him with a drubbing.

Nadal, meanwhile, wasted little time finishing off Sebastien Grosjean yesterday after their fourth-round match was rained out on Sunday. Nadal next faces Ferrer, who may be worn out from his come-from-behind victory over Gaudio, which lasted more than four hours. If Federer and Nadal do advance to their much-awaited semifinal meeting, Federer likely will be better rested and should have a slight edge.

Among the women yesterday, Justine Henin-Hardenne continued her erratic play – and her winning ways. The former world no.1 willed her way to 7-6 (6), 4-6, 7-5 victory over Svetlana Kuznetsova.

Henin-Hardenne struggled with her serve, double faulting 10 times, and looked uncomfortable the entire match. Like so many times in the past, her mind made up for the mistakes of her body. The Belgian said that after she had saved two match points on her serve, trailing 5-3 in the third, she knew the match was there for the taking.

“[Kuznetsova] was very nervous to win the match,” she said. “I could feel it.”

Henin-Hardenne returns to action today against Maria Sharapova, who yesterday closed out her rain-shortened match by winning three straight games. The Russian teenager survived a close first-round match, but has otherwise cruised into the quarterfinals. She and Henin-Hardenne have split their two meetings this season, with Henin-Hardenne handily winning the most recent match, which was played on clay.