PARIS — A drizzly afternoon made the balls heavy and traction tricky on Roger Federer’s least-favorite surface. He hardly seemed bothered.

Meanwhile, Maria Sharapova came up short when she was just one point from the quarterfinals, losing to fellow Russian Dinara Saffina 6-7 (6), 7-6 (5), 6-2.

Moving one round closer to that elusive French Open title, the top-ranked Federer beat Julien Benneteau of France 6-4, 7-5, 7-5 today to reach the quarterfinals.

His next opponent will be No. 24-seeded Fernando Gonzalez, who ended American Robby Ginepri’s surprising run at Roland Garros, 7-6 (4), 6-3, 6-1. Ginepri was the last American in either singles draw.

Federer hit 23 winners despite the damp conditions. He was broken serving for each of the first two sets, but recovered to close them out, finishing the second set in steady rain that prompted a 90-minute interruption before the third set.

Federer reached the final eight for the 16th Grand Slam in a row. The French Open is the only major championship he hasn’t won.

Ginepri became the first U.S. man to reach the fourth round at Roland Garros since Andre Agassi in 2003, and he hung with Gonzalez until losing serve twice in a row late in the second set.

“A disappointing performance on my part today, to not have my A game when I really expected it to be there,” Ginepri said. “At the same time, it was great last week and a great tournament. I’ll probably be a little bit more happy tomorrow, but at the moment I’m a little discouraged with the way it went today.”

Gonzalez benefited from a wider variety of shotmaking than Ginepri, mixing drop shots and slices with a penetrating forehand, and looked more comfortable with his footwork on the dirt. The Chilean also showed more patience in long rallies.

“I tried to end the points too quickly,” Ginepri said. “I should have turned it more into a grind test. A five-hour grind test would have favored me a little bit more.”

Gonzalez could pose a formidable challenge for Federer. The Chilean is 16-0 this year on clay, although he withdrew before the third round in Rome because of a hamstring injury.

At No. 88, Ginepri was the lowest-ranked player left in the men’s draw. He began the tournament with an 0-5 record at Roland Garros, and by winning three matches, he clinched a berth on the U.S. Olympic team.

Seeking the only Grand Slam title she has yet to win, the top-ranked Sharapova blew a big lead against Safina.

Sharapova won five consecutive games in the second set to go ahead 5-2, and held a match point serving at 5-3. As Safina’s comeback gained momentum, Sharapova was two points from victory three times, but she unraveled down the stretch and lost the final four games.

Sharapova’s customary shrieks and screeches reached top volume as the match slipped away, and the noise seemed to annoy fans on Court Suzanne Lenglen. They whistled and booed Sharapova as she left the court after the match, and she didn’t acknowledge the crowd.

Elena Dementieva advanced to the women’s quarterfinals, winning five consecutive games to start the final set to beat fellow Russian Vera Zvonareva 6-4, 1-6, 6-2.

For the No. 7-seeded Dementieva, it’s the best showing at Roland Garros since she was runner-up to champion Anastasia Myskina in 2004. Dementieva closed her victory by smacking a backhand winner, then celebrated with a whirling leap and a yelp.

On Sunday, three-time defending champion Rafael Nadal returned to the quarterfinals by beating fellow Spaniard Fernando Verdasco 6-1, 6-0, 6-2.

The win was Nadal’s most lopsided yet at Roland Garros, where he’s 25-0. He had lost at least six games in each previous match.

Seeded second behind Federer, Nadal is bidding to become the first man since Bjorn Borg in 1981 to win a fourth consecutive French Open title. On Tuesday — Nadal’s 22nd birthday — he’ll play yet another Spaniard, his childhood chum, 19th seed Nicolas Almagro, who beat Jeremy Chardy 7-6 (0), 7-6 (7), 7-5.

Also renewing a friendly rivalry Tuesday will be No. 3-seeded Novak Djokovic and 19-year-old Ernests Gulbis. They shared adventures on and off the court a few years ago at coach Niki Pilic’s tennis academy in Munich, Germany.

In the women’s quarterfinals, No. 2-seeded Ana Ivanovic will play No. 10 Patty Schnyder, and No. 3 Jelena Jankovic will face 19-year-old qualifier Carla Suarez Navarro.