French Open 2016 Results: Winners, Scores, Stats from Friday's Singles Bracket
Nine-time champion and No. 4 seed Rafael Nadal is out of the 2016 French Open after announcing his withdrawal due to injury, but Britain's Andy Murray cruised into the next round on Friday.
A left wrist injury forced out Nadal, who was close to tears in his press conference to confirm his exit.
Murray made short work of No. 27 seed Ivo Karlovic, defeating the Croatian 6-1, 6-4, 7-6.
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Reigning champion Stan Wawrinka also progressed on Friday afternoon, defeating home favourite Jeremy Chardy in straight sets
Seeded women's players Agnieszka Radwanska, Simona Halep, Garbine Muguruza and Samantha Stosur all found safe passage into the next round, but Petra Kvitova lost to non-seeded American Shelby Rogers.
Here are the latest results from Friday's matches:
| Andy Murray (GBR)[2] def. Ivo Karlovic (CRO)[27] | 6-1, 6-4, 7-6(3) |
| Stan Wawrinka (SUI)[3] def. Jeremy Chardy (FRA)[30] | 6-4, 6-3, 7-5 |
| Kei Nishikori (JPN)[5] def. Fernando Verdasco (ESP) | 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 2-6, 6-4 |
| Milos Raonic (CAN)[8] def. Andrej Martin (SVK) | 7-6(4),6-2,6-3 |
| Richard Gasquet (FRA)[9] def. Nick Kyrgios (AUS)[17] | 6-2, 7(7)-6(9), 6-2 |
| John Isner (USA)[15] def. Teymuraz Gabashvili (RUS) | 7(9)-6(7), 4-6, 2-6, 6-4, 6-2 |
| Viktor Troicki (SRB)[22] def. Gilles Simon (FRA)[16] | 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 |
| Albert Ramos-Vinolas (ESP) d. Jack Sock (USA)[23] | 6-7(2),6-4, 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 |
| Garbine Muguruza (ESP)[4] def. Yanina Wickmayer (BEL) | 6-3, 6-0 |
| Samantha Stosur (AUS)[21] def. Lucie Safarova (CZE)[11] | 6-3, 6(0)-7(7), 7-5 |
| Simona Halep (ROU)[6] def. Naomi Osaka (JPN) | 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 |
| Agnieszka Radwanska (POL)[2] def. Barbora Strycova (CZE)[30] | 6-2, 6(6)-7(8), 6-2 |
| Tsvetana Pironkova (BUL) def. Sloane Stephens (USA)[19] | 6-2, 6-1 |
| Irina-Camelia Begu (ROU)[25] def. Annika Beck (GER) | 6-4, 6-2, 6-1 |
| Shelby Rogers (USA) def. Petra Kvitova (CZE)[10] | 6-0, 6(3)-7(7), 6-0 |
| Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS)[13] def. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (RUS)[24] | 6-1, 6-4 |
Murray found his top gear, demolishing Karlovic without trouble. The No. 2 seed was composed and powerful, ensuring he advanced with minimal strain.
Murray went to five sets in his first two matches of the competition, but on Friday he appeared in control and motivated to progress in Paris.
The Scot romped in the first set 6-1, and despite a wobble in the second, he maintained his composure. Murray won the final set on a tiebreak and gave his opinion on the proceedings after the contest, per the Roland Garros' official website:
"I was off to a quick start and against someone like Ivo, that's important. Murray afterwards. The quicker you can get it done the better. It gives me a chance to recover from the first few days, which is good. He fought right to the end. I was very glad to win the tiebreak and get off.
The return is normally the strongest part of my game, but even so against him it's not always up to you. When he serves well, you can't do much. I tried to stay patient and take care of my own service games. Didn't give him any break point opportunities. Very few unforced errors. So a lot of positives - and if you're getting good looks on returns against Ivo, then there is a good chance moving forward that I will be getting good looks on other players' serves.
"
Rogers caused one of the shocks of the French Open, railroading Kvitova to stun the No. 10 seed and sending her home from Paris.
The two-time Wimbledon champion was on the end of a crazy scoreline, losing 6-0, 6-7(3), 6-0.
It is the 10th time the Czech star has fallen before the fourth round in her last 14 Grand Slam competitions, according to Ed McGrogan of Tennis.com.
Lucie Safarova suffered a surprise defeat, as Stosur ripped up the form book to advance. The Australian completed a straight sets sweep, winning 6-3, 6-7(0), 7-5.
The No. 21 seed was delighted after her victory, saying, per Roland Garros: "I knew going into it I was going to have to play really well. It was a high-level match right from the start. To get through that, it's just awesome. I said after the match, Jeez, I can't remember being so happy to win third round. It means a lot."
In the last 16, Stosur now meets Halep, who recently defeated her in Madrid, and the Aussie commented on the mouthwatering tie, per Roland Garros: "She's a player you have to beat. She doesn't give too much away. Obviously I will go back and remember why I fell apart, but I'm not going to lose too much sleep over that match going into this next one."
Murray looks back to his best after a lacklustre start to his campaign in France, but the loss of Nadal gives the Brit extra hope of reaching another Grand Slam final.
The British superstar looked relaxed and calm as he drove through the ball and even flashed a smile as he claimed the winning points in style.
Once again, Murray knows if he can produce his very best, only Novak Djokovic can compete with him on the biggest stages.
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