Paris ? It turns out Gustavo Kuerten can be outslugged in the French Open.

And, just as surprisingly, Lleyton Hewitt can be outhustled.

Kuerten

Three-time French Open champion Kuerten and top-ranked Hewitt bowed out in fourth-round matches that finished 30 minutes apart Sunday at opposite ends of Roland Garros.

Kuerten’s 17-match winning streak in the Grand Slam tournament dissolved in a matter-of-fact 6-4, 7-5, 6-4 loss to 20th-seeded Albert Costa, a Spaniard whose 11 career titles all have come on clay.

“He didn’t let me play the way I wanted to,” said Kuerten, who took 21/2 months off after right hip surgery in February. “He really played a precise match.”

Instead of a Hewitt-Kuerten showdown for a berth in the final four, Costa will play No. 15 Guillermo Canas of Argentina.

Canas heads to his first Grand Slam quarterfinal after winning the final six games to oust U.S. Open champion Hewitt 6-7 (1), 7-6 (13), 6-4, 6-3. The match started with temperatures in the 80s and finished more than four hours later with shadows covering half the court.

The second set alone took 11/2 hours, with Hewitt wasting five set points and Canas finally ending it on his 10th. In the marathon tiebreaker, Hewitt’s double fault made it 14-13, and Canas took advantage by snapping a crosscourt forehand winner.

He then ran to the changeover chairs pumping both fists and yelling, celebrating as though he had won match right there.

In a way, he did.

Canas had shown Hewitt the ultimate on-court battler that he was prepared to return every apparent point-ender, and run, run, run.

“There’s times where you think he’s looking a bit tired, but then he bounces back pretty well,” said Hewitt, who beat Canas in five sets played over two days at the same stage of last year’s French Open. “Physically, he’s very strong.”

In another quarterfinal, two-time runner-up Alex Corretja will face No. 22 Andrei Pavel. Corretja beat Mariano Zabaleta 6-3, 6-2, 7-5, and Pavel upset No. 3 Tommy Haas 6-1, 7-6 (9), 6-4).

Australia's Lleyton Hewitt hits flowers in frustration during his loss to Guillermo Canas of Argentina. Canas won, 6-7, 7-6, 6-4, 6-3, on Sunday in Paris.

Andre Agassi, the 1999 champ, and Marat Safin are among those playing today for other spots in the last eight.

The women’s quarterfinals are top-seeded Jennifer Capriati vs. No. 7 Jelena Dokic; No. 2 Venus Williams vs. No. 6 Monica Seles; No. 3 Serena Williams vs. 2000 champion Mary Pierce; and Clarisa Fernandez vs. Paola Suarez. All won Sunday.

Kuerten never could find the silky shots that propelled him to the French Open crown in 1997 and the past two years.

A completely healthy Guga, as he’s known, probably would have generated more than the eight groundstroke winners that weren’t nearly enough to counter Costa’s 21.

Another indication of the match’s tenor: Kuerten had three break points, Costa 17.

“I was moving good, I was feeling good, and I was running very good,” Costa said after reaching his third Grand Slam quarterfinal, all at Roland Garros. “I wish that it were the final. We still have a long way to go.”

He might have to play all day against Canas, who’s at his best on clay but showed versatility by reaching Wimbledon’s fourth round last year.

Canas and Hewitt provided excellent play, animated displays, and sportsmanship.

They occasionally applauded each other’s winners and even made their own line calls a few times, as though they were just two buddies on a public court.

The acting up was more frequent. Hewitt sliced his racket through a courtside flower box, sending red geranium petals flying; he had a ball boy hopping to avoid a ball hit in disgust after a lost point; he skipped three times toward the net while bellowing, “Come ooooooon!” after pounding a backhand passing shot down the line. Canas threw his racket twice in the 11th game of the second set; later bounced it high in the air and, as it rebounded off the ground, kicked it.