French Open 2015: Results, Highlights, Monday Scores Recap from Roland Garros
Monday's action at the 2015 French Open provided closure with regard to who the men's and women's quarterfinal participants will be after rain cut the previous day's matches short.
A couple of upsets unfolded in the women's draw, with the most prominent being defending champion Maria Sharapova. A straight-sets triumph by Lucie Safarova bounced the No. 2 seed from Roland Garros.
Three of men's tennis' Big Four dropped sets in their fourth-round matches only to ultimately proceed into the final eight. Read on to find out how they advanced along with a recap of the other notable matches and full results below.
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
| 4th | (1) Novak Djokovic | (20) Richard Gasquet | 6-1, 6-2, 6-3 |
| 4th | (2) Roger Federer | (13) Gael Monfils | 6-3, 4-6, 6-4, 6-1 |
| 4th | (3) Andy Murray | Jeremy Chardy | 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 |
| 4th | (6) Rafael Nadal | Jack Sock | 6-3, 6-1, 5-7, 6-2 |
| 4th | (7) David Ferrer | (9) Marin Cilic | 6-2, 6-2, 6-4 |
| 4th | (1) Serena Williams | Sloane Stephens | 1-6, 7-5, 6-3 |
| 4th | (13) Lucie Safarova | (2) Maria Sharapova | 7-6 (3), 6-4 |
| 4th | (23) Timea Bacsinszky | (4) Petra Kvitova | 2-6, 6-0, 6-3 |
| 4th | (17) Sara Errani | Julia Goerges | 6-2, 6-2 |
| 4th | (21) Garbine Muguruza | (28) Flavia Pennetta | 6-3, 6-4 |
| 4th | Alison Van Uytvanck | Andreea Mitu | 6-1, 6-3 |
Monday Recap
Roger Federer had started his match against Frenchman Gael Monfils on Sunday before officials put it on hold tied at one set apiece. Monday was a new day, and it brought with it a familiar outcome as Federer dominated his way to a four-set win.
It seemed as though Federer did just what he desired to do off a less than stellar start on Sunday, per Roland Garros' official Twitter account:
Federer drew on superior play at the net to advance, winning 25 of 39 points when he approached, while Monfils won just 11 of 25 such points when he crashed the net. Second-serve winning percentage also helped Federer immensely, as he held the advantage there at 64 to 46 percent success.
There's reason for Federer to be optimistic about his chances to move on to the semifinals based on his stellar record against Switzerland compatriot Stan Wawrinka, per ESPN's Adnan Virk:
As for the matches that actually started Monday, top-seeded Novak Djokovic appears to be a man on a mission in hot pursuit of the career Grand Slam.
His subdued reaction to match point is evidence of that:
Djokovic dispatched another French native, Richard Gasquet, without much trouble at all in straight sets. The Serbinator appears to be firing on all cylinders, and when he is, no one in the game can touch him.
Well, except for maybe Rafael Nadal.
The nine-time French Open champion has had his fair share of struggles over the past year or so to fall to the sixth seed in this year's draw, but he is up to his old tricks as the King of Clay in Paris. Nadal defeated Jack Sock in four sets, benefiting largely from the free-swinging American's 44 unforced errors and nine double-faults.
Needing to wrest back control of the match after Sock took the fourth set, Nadal used a pacey backhand winner to notch a break to go up 2-1:
BBC Sport's Piers Newbery brought forth some fun facts about the impending Nadal-Djokovic quarterfinal showdown:
Andy Murray beat Nadal in the final of his last full start in Madrid and is carrying over that momentum well, getting past Jeremy Chardy with relative ease in four sets.
Tennis.com's Steve Tignor fancies Murray's chances moving forward against David Ferrer, the 2013 Roland Garros finalist who beat Marin Cilic on Monday:
To circle back to the women's side, Sharapova didn't play a particularly awful match against Safarova—she just wasn't sharp enough at this stage of the tournament to continue.
Sharapova hit just 20 winners to 26 unforced errors, while Safarova had numbers of 34 and 22 in those categories. It was mostly a battle from the baseline that Sharapova never had any leverage in, and she couldn't win the critical points she often does to separate herself from the competition.
The top two women's seeds were in danger of elimination Monday when Sloane Stephens exploded for a 6-1 first-set win over Serena Williams.
But the living legend didn't allow her fellow American to get the best of her, recovering to grind out the second set 7-5 before putting Stephens away at 6-3 in the third.
Stephens battled for a break that could have evened the final set at four games apiece before Williams finally put the game away with a brilliant, extensive rally:
ESPN Stats & Info alluded to how great Williams is at bouncing back from a set down:
"(1) Serena Williams def. Sloane Stephens by winning final 2 sets; Williams: 11-2 match record in last calendar year after losing 1st set
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) June 1, 2015"
If Williams stumbles at any point, it's any woman's tournament to win now.
Timea Bacsinszky pulled off the upset over No. 4 seed Petra Kvitova in the final match of the day, making history in the process, per SI Tennis:
One dark-horse contender to watch is 17th seed Sara Errani, who was sharp in a 6-2, 6-2 win over Julia Goerges on Monday. Errani ran to the 2012 French Open final, but she is Williams' next opponent. It will take everything she has to get any further.
Only three of the top 13 women's seeds remain, which shows how deep and unpredictable WTA tennis has become. In stark contrast, the men's tennis world is still rather top-heavy, with Nadal and Federer still hanging tough, Djokovic hitting his stride and Murray continually improving.
All eyes will be on the quarterfinal clash between Djokovic and Nadal, as the former hopes to draw on his recent dominance in the rivalry:
The New York Times' Christopher Clarey logged a couple of interesting things both players had to say ahead of their epic matchup:
Each man seems to be attempting to downplay the significance of the heavyweight tilt on tap. It will have the feeling of a final, but both Djokovic and Nadal know two demanding matches loom beyond what could be a five-set thriller for the ages.
Djokovic has the pressure to complete the last leg of his career Slam, while Nadal has a duty to reassert his superiority in Paris after an underwhelming clay-court season by his standards to date.
Whoever advances beyond then will likely face Murray in the semifinals. Based on Murray's defeat of Nadal in Madrid and his current form, he could well seize the opportunity and run all the way to the final.
Note: Match stats courtesy of RolandGarros.com unless otherwise indicated.
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
