Paris ? Lindsay Davenport’s rocky ride through the French Open continued Sunday, as the lone American remaining in the tournament stayed alive by storming back and beating Kim Clijsters, 1-6, 7-5, 6-3, to advance to the quarterfinals for first time since 1999.

It was Davenport’s fourth consecutive three-set match at Roland Garros. And though she had flirted with an early exit since arriving in Paris, she came treacherously close Sunday, falling behind 1-3 in the second set before raising her game as Clijsters’s inexplicably dissolved.

“I was probably as surprised as anybody when it was all said and done,” said Davenport, 28, who faces 2000 champion, Mary Pierce, on Tuesday.

Though Davenport is the world’s No. 1 player and the No. 1 seed, she wasn’t favored against 14th-seeded Clijsters, who had yet to drop a set and entered this match having beaten Davenport six straight times. While the sturdy Clijsters plays a fluent clay-court game, Davenport’s 6-2 frame and high-octane shots are ill-suited to the surface.

Pierce had to go to 11 match points before beating No. 8 Patty Schnyder, 6-1, 1-6, 6-4.

Fifteen-year-old Sesil Karatantcheva, the Bulgarian who beat Venus Williams in the third round, advanced to the quarters by downing Emmanuelle Gagliardi 7-5, 6-3.

Karatantcheva will play No. 16 Elena Likhovtseva of Russia, a 7-6 (3), 5-7, 7-5 victor over No. 4 Elena Dementieva. Another Russian, No. 7 Nadia Petrova reached the quarters with a 7-5, 3-6, 6-4 victory over No. 12 Elena Bovina.

Men’s No. 1 Roger Federer advanced easily to the quarters, beating Carlos Moya 6-1, 6-4, 6-3. Federer next goes against Victor Hanescu, who beat No. 10 David Nalbandian 6-3, 4-6, 5-7, 6-1, 6-2.

The match between No. 4 Rafael Nadal of Spain and No. 23 Sebastien Grosjean of France was suspended. by rain. Nadal led 6-4, 3-6, 3-0.