 |
| An emotional Tommy Robredo battled back to defeat Gael Monfils |
Roland Garros 2013 Day 6: Robredo ends Monfils run
Day 6 saw the French Open play catch-up with round two coming to a conclusion and round three getting well underway. Big names were in action, there were some thrilling matches and a sprinkling of upsets.
 |
| Federer avenged his defeat to Benneteau in Rotterdam |
The Big Guns
Reigning champion Rafael Nadal dropped a set for the second successive round but came through comfortably enough in four against Martin Klizan.
Second seed Roger Federer put in a solid performance to ensure there was no repeat of Wimbledon 2012 against Julien Benneteau. The Swiss former champion came through 6-3 6-4 7-5.
There were also victories on day six for David Ferrer and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga who moved into round four with Federer while Richard Gasquet and Stanislas Wawrinka remained on course for a fourth round clash as they won through in second round encounters.
 |
| Williams firing on all cylinders |
Top seed Serena Williams continued her red hot form and serene progress with a 6-0 6-2 dismissal of Sorana Cirstea in the third round for her 27th consecutive victory.
The 2002 champion has dropped six games in three rounds but will likely be pushed a bit harder by 15th seed Roberta Vinci in the last 16.
2012 winner Maria Sharapova completed her match against Eugenie Bouchard held over from day five with the Russian second seed coming through 6-2 6-4 while there were also victories for Agnieszka Radwanska, 2012 finalist Sara Errani and Angelique Kerber.
Former champions Ana Ivanovic and Svetlana Kuznetsova were also victorious and will face Radwanska and Kerber in the fourth round.
The Upsets
In the Men's event top 16 seeds Marin Cilic and Milos Raonic were sent home on day six as both failed to reach their alloted spots in the round of 16.
10th seeded Cilic lost an epic first set tie-break 14-12 against Viktor Troicki and the Serb two more tight sets 6-4 and 7-5. 14th seed Raonic missed out in a big serving battle against 23rd seed Kevin Anderson with the South African coming through in straight sets.
The Women's draw saw a minor upset with 2010 champion Francesca Schiavone getting some revenge for Italy with a 6-1 4-6 6-3 defeat of 21st seed Kirsten Flipkens. The Belgian had beaten Schiavone's compatriot Flavia Pennetta in round one.
The Battles
Day six saw a number of gripping matches at Roland Garros as players battled tooth and nail to reach the weekend.
In the women's singles there was a super tussle on court 3 with Stefanie Voegele edging past two-time quarter finalist and recent Brussels winner Kaia Kanepi 7-6(8-6) 3-6 8-6.
There was a titanic all-American second round on court 7 with John Isner and Ryan Harrison going the distance. The more experienced US player hit back from two sets down to eventually come through 5-7 6-7(7-9) 6-3 6-1 8-6.
Eighth seed Janko Tipsarevic and Fernando Verdasco fought out a fluctuating battle on court 3 with the Spaniard producing a determined comeback before the Serb eventually triumphed 7-6(7-3) 6-1 3-6 5-7 8-6.
Gilles Simon went the distance against 18th seed Sam Querrey with the 15th seeded Frenchman coming from two sets to one down to book a last 16 meeting with Federer.
 |
| Mixed emotions for Robredo and Monfils |
The exploits of Gael Monfils have been one of the talking points of week one with the former semi-finalist taking out Tomas Berdych and Ernests Gulbis.
He looked to be moving through to fourth round when the Frenchman led 32nd seeded veteran Tommy Robredo by two sets to love.
The Spaniard - a former top 5 player - recovered to take the third before Monfils held four match points in the fourth.
However the 2004 junior champion could not convert two chances on Robredo's serve at 5-3 or two on his own serving for the match at 5-4. Having escaped Robredo had the momentum and scored a stirring 2-6 6-7(5-7) 6-2 7-6(7-3) 6-2 victory.
No comments:
Post a Comment