French Open 2015: Results, Highlights, Sunday Scores Recap from Roland Garros
Rain and fading sunlight prevented the 2015 French Open's eighth day of play from fully coming to fruition Sunday at Roland Garros. Five total matches were completed, though, as three men and two women proceeded on to the quarterfinals in Paris.
Three of the four matches on the men's side featured French natives, including talented 13th seed Gael Monfils taking on Roger Federer. After dropping the first set 6-3, Monfils rallied to even the match at 6-4 in the second before it was put on hold to finish Monday.
Defending women's champion Maria Sharapova was scheduled to take the court but had her match against Lucie Safarova postponed.
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Read on for a list of the completed results from Sunday's action, including a recap of what transpired.
| 4th | (14) Jo-Wilfried Tsonga | (4) Tomas Berdych | 6-3, 6-2, 6-7 (5), 6-3 |
| 4th | (5) Kei Nishikori | Teymuraz Gabashvili | 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 |
| 4th | (8) Stan Wawrinka | (12) Gilles Simon | 6-1, 6-4, 6-2 |
| 4th | (7) Ana Ivanovic | (9) Ekaterina Makarova | 7-5, 3-6, 6-1 |
| 4th | (19) Elina Svitolina | (29) Alize Cornet | 6-2, 7-6 (9) |
Sunday Recap
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga was the most notable victor at Roland Garros. The 2013 event's semifinalist topped fourth seed Tomas Berdych in four sets, much to the delight of the home fans.
With an almost even ratio of 43 winners to 41 unforced errors, it was a sharp service game that allowed Tsonga to come out on top. The Frenchman smashed 13 aces to four double faults and managed to break the powerful Berdych six times in the match.
NBC Sports provided footage of some of Tsonga's serving prowess:
ESPN Stats & Info noted the roll Berdych had been on in major tournaments:
Chris Jones of the Evening Standard logged some of what Tsonga had to say afterward:
Tsonga is indeed an elite talent who has the skills to win a Grand Slam trophy. He just hasn't quite had enough in the past to get past many of his magnificent contemporaries on the big stage. Perhaps this year could present a welcome change.
The other two men's matches weren't quite as exciting or rousing for the Paris crowd.
No. 5 seed Kei Nishikori took care of business as expected in straight sets against Teymuraz Gabashvili, while Stan Wawrinka moved on without dropping a set against French No. 12 seed Gilles Simon.
Infostrada Sports highlighted the massive accomplishment Nishikori achieved:
CNN's Ravi Ubha weighed in on Wawrinka's sterling form:
Roland Garros' official Twitter feed recorded what a confident Wawrinka said regarding the state of his game:
The heavier conditions made it more difficult to hit winners and aces, so the form all three of the men's quarterfinal qualifiers showed Sunday was most impressive.
Only two women were able to proceed to the next phase of the tournament due to Mother Nature's lack of cooperation on this particular day. One was seventh-seeded Ana Ivanovic, a former world No. 1 and 2008 French Open champion who defeated Ekaterina Makarova in three sets.
This is the first time Ivanovic has gotten so deep into the tournament since she won her lone Grand Slam singles title. Ivanovic will meet up with an exciting young star in 20-year-old Elina Svitolina, who defeated Nice native Alize Cornet in a match that featured a thrilling 11-9 tiebreaker and six match points to close out.
So this is going to be quite a crossroads showdown between Ivanovic and Svitolina. The former is trying to revive her game after failing to replicate similar results since her 2008 breakthrough, and Svitolina is getting her first taste of a Grand Slam quarterfinal.
Monday will certainly be fascinating on the men's side as Monfils tries to stage an upset over Federer. Wawrinka awaits whoever comes out on top in that one, which will create a magnificent final eight clash either way.
The men's quarterfinal that is locked in features Nishikori and Tsonga. Natural ability and a friendly legion of fans will aid Tsonga's continued quest toward glory, but Nishikori's fitness and immense improvement in recent years can't be discounted.
Note: Match stats courtesy of RolandGarros.com.
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