French Open 2016: Results, Highlights, Wednesday Scores Recap from Roland Garros
Roland Garros was soaked by rain Monday and Tuesday, but downpours ceased Wednesday so both the men's and women's sides of the bracket could wrap up fourth-round play and move into the quarterfinal stages of the year's second Grand Slam.
Serena Williams headlined the action on the women's side of the draw and cruised into the quarterfinals with a tidy 6-1, 6-1 win over Elina Svitolina, while Novak Djokovic returned to the French clay after his match with Roberto Bautista Agut was suspended Tuesday through two-and-a-half sets.
The second-seeded Andy Murray and ninth-seeded Richard Gasquet also hit the court for one of two men's quarterfinal clashes Wednesday.
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Men's Recap and Scores
| No. 1 Novak Djokovic vs. No. 14 Roberto Bautista Agut | Djokovic 3-6, 6-4, 6-1, 7-5 |
| No. 2 Andy Murray vs. No. 9 Richard Gasquet * | Murray 5-7, 7-6(3), 6-0, 6-2 |
| No. 3 Stan Wawrinka vs. Albert Ramos-Vinolas * | Wawrinka 6-2, 6-1, 7-6(7) |
| No. 7 Tomas Berdych vs. No. 11 David Ferrer | Berdych 6-3, 7-5, 6-3 |
| No. 12 David Goffin vs. Ernests Gulbis | Goffin 4-6, 6-2, 6-2, 6-3 |
| No. 13 Dominic Thiem vs. Marcel Granollers | Thiem 6-2, 6-7, 6-1, 6-4 |
At one point, it appeared as though Djokovic and Bautista Agust were destined to go the distance. The Spaniard broke Djokovic on six different occasions as the world No. 1 struggled with consistency at times, and 54 unforced errors by the men's favorite were uncharacteristic, to say the least.
However, Djokovic was able to make headway late in the fourth set to put his pesky opponent away once and for all. After entering the 11th game of the set tied at five games apiece, Djokovic notched a break and put himself in prime position to advance.
Although Bautista Agut briefly threatened to break back and send the set to a tiebreak, Djokovic stood tall and displayed poise to clinch a spot in his 28th straight Grand Slam quarterfinal, according to the ATP World Tour on Twitter.
Roland Garros' official Twitter account offered a look at match point, which featured Djokovic rushing to the net following a blistering serve:
According to ATP Media Info on Twitter, the win put Djokovic in elite monetary territory:
"I'm, in a way, glad to have a match like this, because it's a challenge that you need to overcome mentally mostly," Djokovic said of the harsh conditions, per TennisNow on Twitter.
Djokovic's win thrust him into a quarterfinal meeting with Tomas Berdych, who sent Spaniard David Ferrer packing in straight sets Wednesday afternoon. Berdych, though, should be considered a heavy underdog when he clashes with Djokovic.
The 30-year-old is 2-23 all-time against the world No. 1, including 1-2 on clay surfaces. However, ATP Media Info noted Berdych has won a set against Djokovic in each of their three clay-court matches to date.
Elsewhere, Dominic Thiem and David Goffin snagged spots in the quarterfinals by virtue of their wins over Marcel Granollers and Ernests Gulbis, respectively. Both men needed four sets to reach the next round of clay-court action, but Thiem stood out most as he reached his first-ever Grand Slam quarters, per ATP Media Info:
On the bottom half of the draw, Andy Murray staved off a strong challenge from No. 9 seed Richard Gasquet and gained steam throughout the four-set thriller to set up a semifinal date with No. 3 seed Stan Wawrinka.
Murray stumbled early after he choked away a 5-2 lead and subsequently dropped the first set, but he avoided the same fate by capturing a tiebreak win in the second set that paved the way for a stellar 6-0 showing in the third frame.
It was smooth sailing from that point on for the No. 2 seed, but Murray will face a daunting challenge in semifinal action against the defending French Open champion.
Wawrinka moved on thanks to a straight-set win over Albert Ramos-Vinolas—whose Cinderella run came to an end following wins over Jack Sock and Milos Raonic—and he may wind up entering the semis as a slight favorite over Murray.
Wawrinka has played just two matches in excess of three sets to this point in the tournament, while Murray has participated in three—including two five-set tilts to start his fortnight in France.
There's also the matter of a fairly lopsided recent history between the two. Although Murray owns an 8-7 edge all-time, per ATPWorldTour.com, Wawrinka has won the last three matches between the two powerhouses.
Women's Recap and Scores
| No. 1 Serena Williams vs. No. 18 Elina Svitolina | Williams 6-1, 6-1 |
| No. 4 Garbine Muguruza vs. Shelby Rogers * | Muguruza 7-5, 6-3 |
| No. 8 Timea Bacsinszky vs. No. 9 Venus Williams | Bacsinszky 6-2, 6-4 |
| No. 12 Carla Suarez-Navarro vs. Yulia Putintseva | Putintseva 7-5, 7-5 |
| No. 15 Madison Keys vs. Kiki Bertens | Bertens 7-6, 6-3 |
| No. 21 Samantha Stosur vs. Tsvetana Pironkova * | Stosur 6-4, 7-6(6) |
Serena couldn't have asked for a much more perfect Wednesday. Although her fourth-round showdown with Svitolina was pushed back on two occasions, the world No. 1 made light work of her 21-year-old foe with a 62-minute win that included just a pair of games lost.
As if that didn't paint a lopsided picture, Serena produced eight aces to Svitolina's zero while winning 21 of her 29 first-serve points. By comparison, Svitolina mustered 10 first-serve wins in 26 opportunities. Had Serena not posted 17 unforced errors in the win, she could have had a chance at blanking the tournament's No. 18 seed.
According to freelance tennis writer Tumaini Carayol, Williams has been nearly unbeatable on clay over the past five years:
"I give everything on every point," Williams said, per Roland Garros on Twitter. "I'm a fighter."
By virtue of her win, Serena will now meet Yulia Putintseva in the quarterfinals after the unranked riser upset No. 12 Carla Suarez-Navarro in straight sets, 7-5, 7-5. According to the New York Times' Ben Rothenberg, Putintseva's quarterfinal appearance will be her first on the Grand Slam stage.
USA Today's Nick McCarvel noted Putintseva has proved a bit of resistance against Serena over the course of their two career meetings:
Beyond Serena's dominant effort and fortunate quarterfinal draw, American women didn't do well Wednesday.
No. 8 Timea Bacsinszky dispatched No. 9 Venus Williams in straight sets after rebounding from a slow start. Despite dropping the first two games of the first set, Bacsinszky bounced back and closed out the frame with six straight victorious games to assert her dominance.
From that point on, it was smooth sailing for the Swiss dynamo. Bacsinszky posted an 18-6 edge in total winners, and Venus' 24 unforced errors gave Bacsinszky enough margin for error that she was able to claim a 6-4 second-set victory.
"I give credit to my opponent," Venus said, per Roland Garros' Twitter account. "It was just a frustrating day of balls not going in or hitting the net tape."
Bacsinszky's win set up a quarterfinal meeting with Kiki Bertens—who punctuated a straight-set upset of American Madison Keys with a wicked backhand down the line, as the tournament's official Twitter account documented:
"I felt like I was banging my head against the wall at times, but that's just kind of how it goes sometimes," Keys said, per Roland Garros on Twitter.
In quarterfinal action, No. 4 Garbine Muguruza handed out another loss to a Red, White and Blue competitor as she breezed past Shelby Rogers 7-5, 6-3 to become the first woman to clinch a spot in the semifinals.
"Shelby played very good," Muguruza said after the match, per the Post and Courier's Jeff Hartsell. "She was playing with confidence and a lot of precision. I wanted so much to win today and hopefully I can make it until the last day. I definitely want to keep going."
The rising star will meet fellow quarterfinal victor No. 21 Samantha Stosur in the semis after the Australian came back from 1-5 down in a second set tiebreaker against Tsvetana Pironkova and moved to within a win of the French Open final with a 6-4, 7-6(6) win.
Looking ahead, the semifinal between Stosur and Muguruza may be closer than the seeds would make it seem. According to WTA Insider on Twitter, Stosur defeated Muguruza 7-5, 3-6, 6-1 two years ago in Madrid, so she can't be discounted this time around.
Stats courtesy of RolandGarros.com unless noted otherwise.
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