French Open 2016 Results: Top Scores, and Highlights from Early Matches
The 2016 French Open has been filled to the brim with thrills and spills over the first week of competition results, and Monday's rain stoppage presented an ideal moment to pause and celebrate the highlights so far.
Sky Sports reported this was the first time in 16 years that an entire day of play was abandoned due to the conditions, but those still left in the running may be pleased at the prospect of an extra day off.
And rightly so, given the top scores thus far in the tournament have been of a mighty calibre, with monolithic talents and minnows alike falling by the wayside en route to the quarter-final stage.
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We've looked back over the first week of the 2016 French Open and picked out some of the best moments and biggest results so far from Roland Garros.
| Stanislas Wawrinka (SUI)[3] vs. Albert Ramos-Vinolas | Tuesday, May 31 | 2 p.m. BST/9 a.m ET |
| Andy Murray (GBR)[2] vs. Richard Gasquet (FRA)[9] | Tuesday, May 31 | 1:30 p.m. BST/8:30 a.m ET |
| Garbine Muguruza (ESP)[4] vs. Shelby Rogers (USA) | Wednesday, June 1 | 1 p.m. BST/8 a.m ET |
Radwanska and Strycova: Started from the Bottom
It's hardly uncommon to see a payer finish a point off their feet at the top level of tennis, even less so on a clay surface, but to see two players end up on their backsides simultaneously is an altogether more rare phenomenon.
That being said, Paris was treated to a display of that very spectacle in the third-round meeting between women's No. 2 seed Agnieszka Radwanska and opponent Barbora Strycova, as shown by We Are Tennis:
It was ultimately Czech contender Strycova who emerged from the duel victorious, which was just as well given she was 3-0 down in the second set and managed to turn the tables and take the set shortly thereafter.
It would count for nought in the end, as she ultimately slipped to a 2-6, 7-6(6), 2-6 defeat against hot favourite Radwanska, but the pair enjoyed a moment sure to make it into this year's French Open blooper reel.
Gasquet the Home Crowd Hero
Of all the top seeds to exit the tournament during the early rounds, No. 5 seed Kei Nishikori is the only one to do so not of his own volition after the ninth-seeded Richard Gasquet ousted him fair and square. By contrast, fourth-seeded Rafael Nadal and No. 6 seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga both departed due to injury.
Gasquet's 6-4, 6-2, 4-6, 6-2 win over Nishikori on Sunday was one for the French history books, too, and the fans deservedly showed the Beziers native their appreciation for his efforts, per the official Roland Garros Twitter account:
In the end, Gasquet made the win look almost simple against one of the world's finest players, and he explained what the result meant to him, especially given the setting, per the tournament's official website:
"Very difficult, especially against [Stan] Wawrinka a few years ago, I think I was leading two sets to love. So of course, it's a great match for me to win [against] the No. 6 in the world on central court in Paris.
[I was] just motivated to play in the fourth round against one of the biggest players in the world with all the crowd cheering for me in Paris [on the] biggest stage in the world for a French player. That's why I really wanted to win this match.
"
His reward is a quarter-final meeting with No. 2 seed Andy Murray, but the sheer emotion and support on hand during a memorable fourth-round win will undoubtedly be savoured for the time being.
Likewise, fellow French native Kristina Mladenovic also assembled a heartening amount of support in her third-round defeat to Serena Williams, although it didn't have quite the same impact on her result.
Underdogs Rising
With the last eight in both the men's and women's tournaments all but decided, Albert Ramos-Vinolas and Shelby Rogers currently feature as the underdog tales of the competition thus far.
Both players are in the last eight, with Ramos-Vinolas defeating No. 8 seed Milos Raonic 6-2, 6-4, 6-4 to book his first spot in the quarters of a major tournament. ESPN Tennis elaborated further on his achievement:
"Ramos Viñolas won four total Slam matches before this event. Wins fourth of 2016 French Open 6-2 6-4 6-4 over Raonic to reach first Major QF
— ESPNTennis (@ESPNTennis) May 29, 2016"
Similarly, this will be Rogers' maiden Grand Slam quarter-final, and her reaction to beating Irina-Camelia Begu 6-3, 6-4 was all that was needed to summarise what the feat meant to her:
The American will take on No. 4 seed Garbine Muguruza in her attempt to keep the surprises coming and ensure at least one unseeded player makes it to the semi-finals, but her chances look very slim.
Nevertheless, upsets of this calibre are a significant part of the Grand Slam appeal, and both Rogers and Ramos-Vinolas will be striving to ensure their fairytale runs don't end in the last eight.
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