Nine-time champion Rafael Nadal and title-holder Novak Djokovic surged into the French Open quarter-finals for a record-equalling 11th time on Sunday, but reigning women’s champion Garbine Muguruza crashed out in the last 16, leaving the woman’s draw wide open and very exciting. Venus Williams bowed out of the competition, while Next Gen player Karen Khachanov set up a meeting with world No 1 Murray.
Off court, Nadal had a thing or two to say to the umpires while Muguruza had much to say about the crowd after her emotional match. Dive in for the all the headlines and sidelines from the fifth day.
The Big News
Tearful champion Muguruza blasts French crowd
An emotional Garbine Muguruza blasted the French Open crowd for being disrespectful after the defending champion lost to home hope Kristina Mladenovic in the last 16.
The Spaniard departed Court Suzanne Lenglen scoldingly wagging her finger as the crowd was asked to applaud Muguruza following her 6-1, 3-6, 6-3 defeat.
“I think the audience was really tough today. I can’t really understand. I don’t know how to explain,” said Muguruza, whose post-match press conference was briefly interrupted when she broke down in tears and left the room before quickly returning.
“If you had been in my shoes on the court, I think you would have understood. I don’t know what people were expecting. I’d rather not say anything more.”
Mladenovic thrived on the partisan support from the home faithful as the 13th seed ensured the host nation will have two women in the quarter-finals for the first time in 23 years.
But Muguruza said should she felt the crowd lacked respect at times. “I just think that they were a little bit, sometimes should be a little bit more respectful. The chair umpire has to always calm the crowd down.”
Djokovic, Nadal sail though
Nadal continued his ruthless form at Roland Garros by dispatching Spanish 17th seed Roberto Bautista Agut 6-1, 6-2, 6-2 to match Roger Federer’s mark of last-eight appearances in Paris. The 14-time major winner has dropped just 20 games in four matches as he strives to become the first man to win 10 titles at a single Grand Slam.
Djokovic also became an 11-time quarter-finalist as he sauntered past Spain’s Albert Ramos-Vinolas 7-6 (7/5), 6-1, 6-3. The Serb needed 75 minutes to clinch the opening set but then outclassed the 19th seed. The Serb also confirmed that coach Andre Agassi had, as planned, already left Paris.
The fourth seed will meet compatriot Pablo Carreno Busta, while Djokovic will play Dominic Thiem.
World No 290 Martic’s fairytale run continues
Two months ago, Petra Martic was playing qualifiers at a pocket-money claycourt tournament on sub-standard courts in Italy where ball boys were non-existent.
But the 26-year-old’s determination not to surrender to a potentially career-ending back injury, which sent her ranking outside the top 600 in April, has now been rewarded with a place in the French Open fourth round.
“When I got injured, my only hope was that I would get a second chance so I can play some of my best tennis again,” said Martic, the world number 290, after needing just 48 minutes to ease to a 6-1, 6-1 win over Latvian 17th seed Anastasija Sevastova..
Raonic crashes out
Spanish 20th seed Pablo Carreno Busta stunned fifth-seeded Milos Raonic of Canada 4-6, 7-6 (7/2), 6-7 (6/8), 6-4, 8-6 to set up a French Open quarter-final clash with Rafael Nadal.
Carreno Busta will be playing in his first Slam quarter-final after needing seven match points to clinch the 4 hr 17 min match. Raonic, a quarter-finalist in 2014, fired 25 aces, 92 winners but a stunning 84 unforced errors.
Shot of the Day:
Switzerland’s Timea Bacsinszky downed Venus Williams 5-7, 6-2, 6-1 to ensure a first-time Grand Slam champion will be crowned at French Open. Check out this cracker of a shot the 30th seed played en route her win.
Quotable Quotes
“If you want to play well, you have to let players breathe a little. We’re not machines that cannot think.”
– Nadal, who repeatedly falls foul of the rule which stipulates a maximum 25 seconds between points.
“I’ve heard she speaks about 25 languages.”
– Garbine Muguruza on Kiki Mladenovic screaming “Forza” everytime she made an error.
“But Karen is a – it’s weird saying that name. It’s my mother’s name. Sorry.”
– John Isner having problems name-checking third round conqueror Karen Khachanov.
“He knows what it was. It’s just between us. It’s nothing else. It’s not something special. It’s something I don’t like he’s doing. That’s it.”
– Svetlana Kuznetsova on the gestures she made to her coach during her loss to Caroline Wozniacki.
Reporter to Pablo Carreno Busta: “When Milos was saving the (six) match points, what were you thinking?”
Carreno Busta: “Why he save match points?”
From the sidelines:
Like father, like son
Twenty-five years after Petr Korda reached the French Open final, son Sebastian made his junior debut on Sunday beating sixth seed Marko Miladinovic 6-3, 5-7, 6-1.
Service game strong
Karen Khachanov, who has made the last 16 of a Slam for the first time, has held serve for 48 consecutive games at Roland Garros. The towering 21-year-old is playing at the French Open for the first time and has already knocked out Tomas Berdych and John Isner and will take on top seed Andy Murray next
Big moment for Paraguay
Veronica Cepede Royg’s win over Colombia’s Mariana Duque-Marino made her the first Paraguayan woman in the last 16 since Rosanna de los Rios 17 years ago.
Better late than never
Carina Witthoeft kept second seed Karolina Pliskova waiting for almost 10 minutes after arriving late for their third round clash on Court Three. Pliskova sat patiently while the umpire leaned on the net as he waited to perform the coin toss. “Yeah, it was kind of strange because I saw her two minutes before I left the locker room and then she was not coming but I knew she was going to come for sure,” said Pliskova. Witthoeft said a security guard had taken her the wrong way to the court.
Number-crunching
25/92/84 – The aces/winners/unforced errors for Milos Raonic in his five-set loss to Carreno Busta
20 – The number of games lost by Rafael Nadal in four rounds, just one more than his best of 19 at the same stage in 2012.
41 – Shots in a rally between Novak Djokovic and Albert Ramos-Vinolas in the fourth game of the third set, the longest rally of the tournament.
48 – The minutes it took Martic to demolish Anastasija Sevastova.
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