French Open 2013 Scores: Most Intriguing Matches from Day 7

Day 7 is in the books at majestic Roland Garros, host of the 2013 French Open Championship.

It wasn't the most riveting day in tournament history, the favorite advancing in seven of the eight men's singles matches, but some of the contests were noteworthy nonetheless. So much so that, Mikhail Youzhny's three-set upset of eighth-ranked Janko Tipsarevic didn't even crack the list of most intriguing matchups.

Even if the day was kind of "chalky," it left us with plenty to talk about going forward. Here are the three most intriguing matches of Day 7:

(12) Tommy Haas def. (19) John Isner, 7-5, 7-6 (7-4), 4-6, 6-7 (10-12), 10-8

John Isner either has a fetish for lactic acid, a death wish for his sweat glands, a vested financial stake in Buffalo Wild Wings or some combination of the three. There's no other way to explain his penchant for playing marathon matches.

We all remember his epic with Nicolas Mahut at Wimbledon three years ago, a match that spanned two days of real time and 11 hours of time on the court. And though he didn't quite pull the same, extended shift here on Saturday, he came a little too close for comfort.

This time, he also lost.

But it was not for lack of steely resolve on his part, a trait Isner has shown, time and time again, he possesses in absurd quantities. He fought off 12—count'em, 12!—match points before ceding to Haas, the higher-ranked player who took the first two sets.

The fourth set went into extra time, too, needing 22 points before Isner took the tiebreak, 12-10.

When all was said and done, the match clocked in at 4 hours, 37 minutes of brilliant tennis. The bar for match of the tournament has officially been risen.

(13) Kei Nishikori def. Benoit Paire, 6-3, 6-7 (3-7), 6-4, 6-1

This wasn't just an entertaining match, but an historic one, as Kei Nishikori became the first Japanese player since Fumiteru Nakano, in 1938, to make the fourth round of the French Open.

That's 75 freakin' years.

Nishikori, the precocious 23-year-old from Matsue, Shimane, continued to prove why he's among the hottest young players in tennis, besting another talented young gun in Benoit Paire. He dropped a well-fought second set in the tiebreak, but battled back to win 12 of the next 17 games en route to victory.

He made the quarterfinals of the 2012 Australian Open, too, his best finish to date at a Grand Slam event. If he wants to tie that feat at Roland Garros, his task is clear-cut, but far from simple:

All he needs to do is beat seven-time champion Rafael Nadal.

(3) Rafael Nadal def. (27) Fabio Fognini, 7-6 (7-5), 6-4, 6-4

Speak of the devil: Seven-time champion Rafael Nadal struggled again—by his standards, at least—on Saturday, sweeping three sets from Fabio Fognini, but hardly showing championship form.

After losing the first set in both of his first two matches, Nadal again struggled to open the match with Fognini. He composed himself and managed to go up 1-0—finally!—but from there, it was still up and down.

I went into Nadal's vulnerability at length earlier today, and I stand by what I said. I'm not bold enough to predict an upset before the semifinals, but I'm also not dense enough to be floored by one.

He'd be wise to shore up his act soon; otherwise, he could be bounced.