Sharapova, Murray Squeak By at French Open
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Former champion Maria Sharapova and a wave of possible next generation champions came through in fourth round play on Sunday at the French Open.
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The No. 7-seeded Sharapova came from a set down to defeat No. 19 seed and former US Open champion Sam Stosur 3-6, 6-4, 6-0.
“I had five break points and I didn’t convert one of them,” Sharapova said. “Against a player who’s a very good server and who uses her serve as a weapon to set up points out there, if you don’t take advantage of those particular moments, she gains a lot of confidence from that and swings and just keeps serving well too.”
Other winners Sunday were No. 18 Genie Bouchard who upset No. 8 Angelique Kerber 6-1, 6-2, No. 14 Carla Suarez Navarro who continued her breakout march with a win over unseeded Croat Ajla Tomljanovic 6-3, 6-3, and breakout Spaniard Garbine Muguruza who defeated French wildcard Pauline Parmentier 6-4, 6-2.
“Today my goal of taking it early worked really well — I was really going for my shots,” Bouchard said. “I felt good out there. I think I executed my game plan really well, so I’m pretty happy with that.
Bouchard will next meet Suarez Navarro.
“It was difficult to return her serve,” Suarez Navarro said of Tomljanovic. “Although I was able to break her, I wasn’t feeling comfortable. The beginning of the second set is always a very important time. I made too many mistakes in that first game, but what matters is that I was able to get my act together and make the necessary changes.”
Sharapova will next face Murguruza.
“I’m very happy with what I have done so far, but I want to continue,” the Spaniard said. “I still have more matches, so I’m looking forward to my next round.”
On the men’s side No. 4 seed Roger Federer tumbled out in five sets to Ernests Gulbis 6-7(5), 7-6(3), 6-2, 4-6, 6-3.
“I was all over the place,” Federer said. “I am disappointed not to win. I have a lot of regrets. But he did a good job of hanging around and coming back. I knew what to expect, I know how he plays. I just wish I could have played better.”
No. 7 seed Andy Murray won his darkness-delayed match over No. 28-seeded German Philipp Kohlschreiber 12-10 in the fifth set.
“Stopping the match probably helped me a little bit, because if I had played seven or eight more games, probably wouldn’t have been great,” Murray said regarding the original stoppage. “Today was a pretty high standard, I thought. Probably the best standard of the match I think from both of us.”
Other winners Sunday were No. 2 Novak Djokovic over No. 13 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 6-1, 6-4, 6-1; No. 6 Tomas Berdych handing No. 10 John Isner 6-4, 6-4, 6-4; No. 8 Milos Raonic eliminating unseeded Spaniard Marcel Granollers 6-3, 6-3, 6-3; No. 24 Fernando “Hot Sauce” Verdasco upsetting No. 12 Richard Gasquet 6-3, 6-2, 6-3.
Djokovic and Tsonga will next face off.
“I’m very eager and I’m looking forward to that,” Raonic said. “Especially after two weeks ago, to be putting myself in that situation to get to play him again.”
Murray will next meet Verdasco.
“This is going to be a very tough match again,” Verdasco said. “I will try and give my all. I have nothing to lose. He is a favorite because of his ranking. So I will try and play my best tennis, and I hope I’ll be as consistent as I was yesterday and today.”
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