PARIS -- Top seed Lleyton Hewitt fought past a resilient Sjeng Schalken 6-1, 7-5, 6-7 (3), 6-1 and into the fourth round of the French Open.

While his girlfriend and women's fourth seed Kim Clijsters was being beaten on court one, the Australian was locked in a riveting battle on center court.

An absence of fans, caused by the opening match of the soccer World Cup between France and Senegal, left large gaps in the stands, but Hewitt treated those who did turn up to a gutsy performance.

The Australian will next face Guillermo Canas, whose match with Carlos Moya was interrupted when when Court 1 was evacuated because of an unattended briefcase in the stands.

The players were tied a set apiece in a third-round match at Court 1 when officials cleared the 3,790-capacity stadium.

The briefcase was exploded by officials before fans were let back inside and play resumed. The match was delayed nearly an hour.

``It turned out to be a briefcase forgotten by an absent-minded spectator,'' organizers said.

No. 15 Canas' went on to win 4-6, 7-6 (1), 6-7 (2), 6-1, 6-2 and move into the round of 16 against Hewitt.

``I just had lost the second set and I don't think this had any bearing on the outcome of the game,'' Moya said of the interruption.

``It's the first time I see this happen in tennis,'' Canas said.

Three-time champion Gustavo Kuerten also advanced, defeating Fernando Gonzalez 6-3, 2-6, 7-6 (6), 6-4.

The seventh-seeded Brazilian came into the Open short of match practice after hip surgery in February. But with each match, the Roland Garros magic returns and he is hitting form at the right time.

"I have surprised myself, that is true," he said grinning, after coming off court. "I knew today would be very, very tough and I came through okay."

Also making the round of 16 was No. 3 Tommy Haas, who downed Jarkko Nieminen 6-3, 7-5, 2-6, 6-4.

Alex Corretja took a 6-1, 6-2, 4-6, 5-7, 8-6 victory against Arnaud Clement in a match that took 4 hours and 13 minutes. Clement had four match points on Corretja's serve in the 10th game of the final set but couldn't convert, even with a raucous crowd cheering him on.

Corretja, twice a finalist here, will play Mariana Zabaleta, who beat Fernando Vicente 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-3. Haas' next opponent is Andrei Pavel, a 6-1, 1-6, 6-4, 6-3 winner over Albert Montanes.