Andy Murray racked up his 650th career win to reach the French Open quarter-finals, eighth seed Kei Nishikori registered a topsy-turvy 0-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-0 win over Fernando Verdasco, while Stan Wawrinka ousted Gael Monfils, the last French player in the men’s draw. In the women’s draw, Simona Halep kept her first Grand Slam hopes alive while Carolina Garcia won her all-French grudge match with Alize Cornet. Dive in for the all the headlines and sidelines from the fifth day.
The big news
Svitolina ends World No 290 Martic’s dream run
Ukraine’s fifth seed Elina Svitolina reached the quarter-finals for the second time, ending the dream run of world No 290 Petra Martic with a 4-6, 6-3, 7-5 win. However, Martic, bidding to become only the 10th qualifier to make the last eight in Paris threw away a golden chance for victory. The 26-year-old led 5-2 in the final set before Svitolina rallied to race away with the last five games.However, it has been a dream run for Martic, from playing playing qualifiers at a pocket-money claycourt tournament on sub-standard courts in Italy to reaching the fourth round of a Grand Slam.
Murray, Wawrinka charge into last eight
World No 1 Murray, the runner-up in Paris to Novak Djokovic in 2016, brushed aside Karen Khachanov of Russia 6-3, 6-4, 6-4. Murray broke the serve of the 21-year-old Russian, playing in the fourth round of a Slam for the first time, on five occasions. Before Monday, Khachanov had held serve for 48 successive service games.
In his seventh Paris quarter-final, Murray will face Japanese eighth seed Kei Nishikori who defeated 33-year-old Fernando Verdasco of Spain 0-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-0. Wawrinka, the third seed, booked a place in the quarter-finals for the fourth time with a comfortable 7-5, 7-6 (9/7), 6-2 win over Gael Monfils, the last French player in the men’s draw. Marin Cilic completed the quarter-final line-up when South Africa’s Kevin Anderson retired with a thigh injury trailing 6-3, 3-0.
Halep on course
Title favourite and 2014 runner-up Simona Halep trounced Spain’s Carla Suarez-Navarro 6-1, 6-1 to make the last eight without dropping a set or breaking sweat. The third seed, who can become the new world No 1 if she wins the title, claimed her first victory on clay in six attempts against the Spaniard.
“I played my best match of the tournament. I served well and opened up the court,” said Halep. The 25-year-old will tackle Ukraine’s fifth seed Elina Svitolina for a semi-final place. The two met in the Rome final on the eve of Roland Garros when Halep was beaten and suffered an ankle injury which threatened her appearance in Paris.
Shot of the Day
A scoreline as strange as 0-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-0 was sure to be a shot fest, one way or the other. Nishikori came from a “bagel” set down to beat Verdasco in a see-saw of a clash and both players employed all the weapons at their disposal to out muscle the other – check it out.
Quotable Quotes:
“I am sure everyone will join me... we share our thoughts and prayers with everyone who has been affected.”
– Andy Murray voices his support for those impacted by the terror attacks in London and Manchester which left 29 people dead and scores injured.
“Nelson Mandela said that sport speaks universal language that gives strength to the people and creates the union between people like nothing else in the world.”
– Novak Djokovic cites Nelson Mandela to outline the powerful reach of sport.
“30 minutes before the match, I was just chilling. Then stood up and I felt like I had black in my eyes.”
– Elina Svitolina on the shooting back pain that surfaced just before her match against Petra Martic.
“I lost my mind.”
– Kei Nishikori on knowing something had to change after dropping the opening set 6-0 to Fernando Verdasco.
“I felt ashamed about what I did. But now I’m happy that I can be positive on court, and I will never be negative like I was in Miami.”
– Simona Halep on her on-court behaviour that prompted respected coach Darren Cahill to call a temporary halt to their partnership.
From the sidelines:
Memory fails Nishikori ahead of Murray reunion
Kei Nishikori admitted he couldn’t remember last year’s US Open upset of Andy Murray after booking a quarter-final rematch with the world number one. “Actually I’m very bad with the memories,” Nishikori said sheepishly. “I don’t even know if I win or lost. I won?” The Japanese famously dumped the 2012 US Open champion out in New York last year after rallying from sets to one down.
Gazza goal still haunts Murray
Asked for his most vivid memory of watching Scotland play England ahead of this weekend’s World Cup qualifier, Murray’s response was not a happy one. “One of the matches that I remember - well, it was more the goal that I remember, was Gascoigne’s goal. I remember that pretty clearly. That was obviously unbelievable bit of skill,” said Murray, referring to Paul Gascoigne’s brilliant individual effort in a 2-0 England victory at Euro 1996.
Number-crunching
7/8 – The number of top seeds in the men’s singles quarter-finals. Spain’s Pablo Carreno Busta playing the role of gate-crasher having knocked out fifth seed Milos Raonic.
650 – The number of career wins for Murray after beating Russia’s Karen Khachanov.
With inputs from AFP
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