French Open Results 2013: Day 9 Scores, Highlights and Recap

On Day 9 of the French Open, the favorites took charge and proved why they are the best in the world.

After watching players like Roger Federer struggle on Sunday, there was little resistance in the fourth round from the challengers. Rafael Nadal, Victoria Azarenka and Maria Sharapova all won in straight sets, while Novak Djokovic needed four sets to win his match.

There were some great battles on the day—including the five-set match between Richard Gasquet and Stanislas Wawrinka—but there were few surprises.

With the quarterfinals coming up in both the men's and women's draw, here are the biggest stories from a loaded day of action.

Day 9 Results (courtesy of RolandGarros.com)

Match	Score
Men's Draw
No. 1 Novak Djokovic def. No. 16 Philipp Kohlschreiber	4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4
No. 3 Rafael Nadal def. No. 13 Kei Nishikori	6-4, 6-1, 6-3
No. 9 Stanislas Wawrinka def. No. 7 Richard Gasquet	6-7(5), 4-6, 6-4, 7-5, 8-6
No. 12 Tommy Haas def. No. 29 Mikhail Youzhny	6-1, 6-1, 6-3
Women's Draw
No. 2 Maria Sharapova def. No. 17 Sloane Stephens	6-4, 6-3
No. 3 Victoria Azarenka def. Francesca Schiavone	6-3, 6-0
No. 12 Maria Kirilenko def. Bethanie Mattek-Sands	7-5, 6-4
No. 18 Jelena Jankovic def. Jamie Hampton	6-0, 6-2

Novak Djokovic Passes His First Real Test

Although Novak Djokovic struggled a bit in the two tournaments prior to Roland Garros, he has been fantastic in Paris.

The top seed won each of his first three matches in straight sets with little issue. His third-round victory over Grigor Dimitrov also allowed him to avenge a loss from earlier in the season.

However, Philipp Kohlschreiber came out strong on Monday and actually won the first set against the Serbian player. The German could have done more damage but could not take advantage of break opportunities, going only 2-of-13 in break points.

This allowed Djokovic to continue his winning ways, as he won the next three sets to move on to the quarterfinals. He will face veteran Tommy Haas in the next round.

Unfortunately, it was not a completely happy day for the winner. He was playing with a heavy heart after his first coach, Jelena Gencic, died on Saturday. He discussed the emotion on ESPN:

Still, the player looked strong in the match and is certainly capable of winning it all at Roland Garros. 

Top Female Contenders Move Through with Ease

With the re-emergence of Serena Williams, it almost seems as though the rest of the field has no chance of winning. However, it is important not to count out the other high seeds in this draw.

Victoria Azarenka was up first and had very little trouble against Francesca Schiavone in her fourth-round match. The Belarusian allowed her opponent to win a few games in the first set, but she then posted a doughnut in the second set to get the victory.

She was able to get 88 percent of her first serves in play, and her consistency has allowed her to win all but one set in this tournament.

Meanwhile, Maria Sharapova was just as strong against Sloane Stephens. The American opponent gained notoriety when she defeated Williams at the Australian Open earlier this year.

However, Sharapova was the better player on the day, and she advanced to the quarterfinals with a 6-4, 6-3 win. 

Considering how long she has been around the sport, it is easy to forget that the Russian is still getting better. She even wanted to remind people of that after her match, according to Steve Tignor:

It has been 11 years since Williams last won at Roland Garros, so do not assume that the American will be able to beat either of these two talented females.

Rafael Nadal Advances on His Birthday

It is never fun working on your birthday, but it is not too bad when you are as successful as Rafael Nadal.

The Spanish star dominated Kei Nishikori after struggling a bit in the earlier rounds at Roland Garros. He dropped a set in each of his first two rounds, but he seems to be getting better.

As Joe Fleming of USA Today notes, this was his best overall match of the tournament:

After the business part of the day was over, though, it was time to celebrate. A giant cake was brought out onto the court in honor of Nadal's 27th birthday.

The crowd then sang "Happy Birthday" to the seven-time champion, according to Roland Garros on Twitter:

Nadal will have to re-focus on the quarterfinals, where he will face Stanislas Wawrinka. The good news is that if he plays as well as he did on Monday, no one will beat him.

Long and Short Matches Count the Same

While most expected Djokovic and Nadal to reach the quarterfinals, there were some surprising additions to the final eight on Monday. Stanislas Wawrinka and Tommy Haas each advanced with impressive victories in different ways.

Haas easily disposed of Mikhail Youzhny by a score of 6-1, 6-1, 6-3. Unsurprisingly, Youzhny was not having a good time during the loss and took it out on his racket (via ESPN):

Still, the focus should be on the German veteran, who at 35 years old will take part in his first career quarterfinal match at Roland Garros. Unfortunately, he will face the No. 1-seeded Djokovic in the next round.

On the other end of the spectrum, Wawrinka's victory over Richard Gasquest was anything but easy. He lost the first two sets but gutted it out over the final three sets to win the marathon match.

Overall, the match took four hours and 16 minutes. For comparison's sake, Haas won earlier in the day in only an hour and 24 minutes.

Even Andy Murray was impressed with the performance from both players:

Both Haas and Wawrinka should be proud of reaching this point in the tournament, although it appears that neither is ready to give up anytime soon.

Follow Bleacher Report Featured Columnist Rob Goldberg on Twitter.