French Open 2013 Results: Analyzing Most Exciting 3rd-Round Matches

Most of the top seeds at the French Open have advanced comfortably through the first couple rounds, but there were a number of exciting third-round matches on Friday involved middling players in terms of rankings and even some unseeded players.

It remains to be seen if these players will be able to get past higher seeds as the tournament progresses, but they did everything in their power to remain at Roland Garros. Some of them unfortunately fell short of their desired result, but they should not hang their respective heads about.

Here are three of the most entertaining third-round matches that took place at Roland Garros on Friday, including analysis of what made the tilts so thrilling.

Gael Monfils vs. Tommy Robredo

After knocking off No. 5 Tomas Berdych in the first round and managing to slip into the third round, Frenchman Gael Monfils was a sentimental favorite among the Roland Garros faithful. His surprising run came to an end on Friday, however, as No. 32 Tommy Robredo outlasted him in a five-set thriller that left the Spaniard exhausted, according to Beyond The Baseline.

Monfils stormed out to a 2-0 advantage in terms of sets and had the crowd firmly behind him. It would have been very easy for Robredo to fold, but he continued to battle and won a fourth-set tiebreak to force a decisive fifth set. Monfils wasn't moving as well by that point and simply couldn't hold up any longer as Robredo had seized the momentum.

Both men were actually quite aggressive as they each eclipsed 50 winners and 50 unforced errors over the course of the five-set marathon. Monfils had 11 more winners than Robredo, but he also had 16 more unforced errors, which was probably the difference. Monfils had a chance to put it away in the fourth set, but once Robredo broke through, the exciting French star was dead to rights.

Varvara Lepchenko vs. Angelique Kerber

Varvara Lepchenko was hoping to score another major breakthrough for the American women at Roland Garros, but the No. 29 seed fell just short in her bid to upset No. 8 seeded Angelique Kerber as the German star prevailed 6-4, 6-7, 6-4. Lepchenko gave Kerber all she could handle, but the mistakes ultimately mounted for the American and cost her in the end.

Being the aggressor is usually a good thing in tennis, but it can be a double-edged sword of sorts. Lepchenko cracked 46 winners as opposed to Kerber's 24, but she also had 45 unforced errors whereas Kerber had just 24. Kerber is a counterpuncher who counts on her opponents to make mistakes, and that is precisely what Lepchenko did. Kerber has long had issues against Lepchenko and Friday's win marked her first in five tries against the American, according to Tennis.com.

Unforced errors aside, Lepchenko probably played well enough to win. She got an incredible 81 percent of her first serves in over the course of the match and hit some truly great shots. It wasn't meant to be, however, as Kerber weathered the storm and grinded out a tough win as she has so many times in the past.

Gilles Simon vs. Sam Querrey

In perhaps the most back-and-forth match of the day, No. 15 Gilles Simon of France was able to take out No. 18 Sam Querrey of the United States in five, hard-fought sets. Querrey was in the driver's seat as he was up two sets to one, but Simon forced a fourth-set tiebreak and never looked back. The Frenchman won the tiebreak and then somehow breezed through the fifth set in order to advance to the fourth round.

Simon has made a habit of competing in five-set matches as he had to go the distance to eliminate Aussie veteran Lleyton Hewitt in the first round. Simon is obviously comfortable playing long matches on his home turf, though, as he found a way to vanquish Querrey. According to Tennis Channel, Simon's prize after winning such a grueling match is a date with No. 2 Roger Federer in the Round of 16.

In a lot of ways, Simon should consider himself lucky to be in this position. Statistically speaking, Querrey outplayed him as he hit 61 winners, won 79 percent of his first-serve points, won 21 points at the net and broke Simon seven times. Once again, however, the magic stat appears to be unforced errors as Querrey had 21 more than Simon. Querrey was spent by the time the fifth set came around as he missed his opportunity in the fourth set. If nothing else, Querrey certainly softened up Simon for Fed.

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