Paris ? Justine Henin kept saying it, even if no one was listening.

She’s not back to being the player she was before taking a 20-month hiatus from tennis. She’s still searching for consistency on court. Too many “ups and downs,” to use her term.

Turns out Henin was right. Betrayed down the stretch by her best stroke, the backhand, and by her usually steely nerves, the four-time French Open champion lost to No. 7-seeded Sam Stosur of Australia, 2-6, 6-1, 6-4, in the fourth round Monday, ending Henin’s 24-match winning streak at her favorite tournament.

“Everyone wants to see me (at) the level that I was,” said Henin, who abruptly retired in May 2008 while ranked No. 1, then returned to the tour this season and reached the Australian Open final in January. “I still have to work a lot, quite simply.”

Thanks to her 2005-07 titles at Roland Garros, and then the time away, it’s been six years since Henin felt the sting of a loss at the clay-court Grand Slam tournament — all the way back in 2004’s second round.

“Obviously, beating Justine is going to give me lots and lots of confidence for the next match,” said Stosur, a French Open semifinalist in 2009 and a tour-best 18-2 on clay this year. “That’s obviously a great achievement for me, but it’s not over yet. I’m just in the quarters and going to play the No. 1 player in the world next.”

That would be Serena Williams, who stumbled at the start before cruising to a 6-2, 6-2 victory over No. 18 Shahar Peer of Israel.

The other quarterfinal in that half of the draw will be No. 4 Jelena Jankovic of Serbia against 36th-ranked Yaroslava Shvedova of Kazakhstan. Jankovic beat No. 23 Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia, 6-4, 6-2, while Shvedova eliminated 107th-ranked Jarmila Groth of Australia, 6-4, 6-3.

In men’s fourth-round matches, four-time champion Rafael Nadal improved to 200-16 on clay over his career by overcoming four breaks of serve to defeat No. 24 Thomaz Bellucci of Brazil, 6-2, 7-5, 6-4.

Now Nadal will meet No. 19 Nicolas Almagro, who knocked off No. 7 Fernando Verdasco, 6-4, 1-6, 6-1, 6-4. Also Monday, No. 3 Novak Djokovic of Serbia eliminated the last U.S. man in the tournament, 98th-ranked Robby Ginepri of Kennesaw, Ga., 6-4, 2-6, 6-1, 6-2, and No. 22 Jurgen Melzer of Austria beat 114th-ranked qualifier Teimuraz Gabashvili of Russia, 7-6 (6), 4-6, 6-1, 6-4.

NBA

Bynum has knee drained

El Segundo, Calif. — Los Angeles Lakers center Andrew Bynum’s troublesome right knee was drained of excess fluid Monday.

Bynum hopes the procedure will allow him to play closer to full strength in the NBA finals against the Boston Celtics. Los Angeles hosts Game 1 on Thursday night.

Howard wavering

Orlando, Fla. — Dwight Howard might not play for USA Basketball at this summer’s world championships.

Orlando’s All-Star center and the NBA’s two-time defending defensive player of the year said on Monday that he hasn’t decided if he will play.

It was the first time Howard has publicly wavered about playing in this summer’s world championships. He had stayed firm on his commitment all season even as LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and other stars expressed doubts about participating because of impending free agency.

Magic’s Barnes to opt out

Orlando, Fla. — Forward Matt Barnes says he will opt out of the final year of his contract with the Orlando Magic to become a free agent.

Barnes had said for months he would likely make the move, hoping to get a long-term deal to return to Orlando. He made his intentions official Monday after the team’s end-of-season meeting.

MLB

Strasburg’s debut set

Houston — Stephen Strasburg is ready — and so is the Washington Nationals’ ticket office.

The Nationals said after Monday’s 14-4 victory over Houston that their prized pitching prospect will make his major league debut against Pittsburgh on June 8 at Nationals Park.

Twins get good news

Seattle — Twins second baseman Orlando Hudson received good news from tests on his surgically repaired left wrist: There’s no structural damage following a scary collision with teammate Denard Span.

Manager Ron Gardenhire said Monday that the four-time Gold Glove winner had a CT scan, after initial X-rays were inconclusive.

Soccer

U.S. arrives in S. Africa

Johannesburgh — The U.S. World Cup team arrived in Johannesburg on Monday following a 17-hour flight and was greeted by the same visible security presence that was on hand for the arrival for other countries.

Armed special task-force members, dressed in dark blue uniforms, surrounded the South African Airways plane at the O.R. Tambo airport as the players emerged on a cool, overcast afternoon.

After leading his team off the plane, coach Bob Bradley immediately picked out the opening game against England on June 12 as a chance to make an impression on the tournament.

Hockey

Blackhawks take 2-0 lead

Chicago — Marian Hossa and Ben Eager scored 28 seconds apart late in the second period, Antti Niemi had 32 saves, and the Chicago Blackhawks beat the Philadelphia Flyers, 2-1, on Monday for a 2-0 lead in the Stanley Cup finals.

College baseball

Arizona St. top seed

New York — Arizona State made it easy for the NCAA selection committee.

The Sun Devils (47-8) overcame a sudden coaching change before the season, won the Pac-10 title and were chosen Monday as the top seed for the 64-team Division I college baseball tournament.

“They really didn’t make very many mistakes throughout the course of the season and down the stretch,” committee chairman and Kansas State athletic director Tim Weiser said. “I think they, for the most part, from beginning to end have been a team that people have recognized and looked at as kind of separate from a lot of other teams.”

The other national seeds, in order, are: Texas (46-11), Florida (42-15), Coastal Carolina (51-7), Virginia (47-11), UCLA (43-13), Louisville (48-12) and Georgia Tech (45-13).

Four other Big 12 teams will join Texas in the tournament: Oklahoma, Texas A&M, Baylor and Kansas State.

Golf

NCAA champ going pro

Raleigh, N.C. — Reigning NCAA golf champion Matt Hill is turning pro, skipping his final year at North Carolina State after missing a chance to defend his title.

Cycling

Valverde banned

Lausanne, Switzerland — Spanish cyclist Alejandro Valverde received a global two-year ban Monday for his connection to a blood-doping ring, but was allowed to keep his 2009 Spanish Vuelta victory.

College lacrosse

Duke beats Notre Dame

Baltimore — Duke won its first NCAA men’s lacrosse championship in dramatic fashion, defeating Notre Dame, 6-5, Monday on a goal by C.J. Costabile with five seconds gone in sudden-death overtime.