French Open Day 6 highlights: Nadal withdraws

Nine-time champion Rafael Nadal pulled out of the French
Open with a left wrist injury. 2016 photo by Paul Bauman

   Five highlights from Day 6 of the French Open in Paris:
   1. Novak Djokovic's bid to become the eighth man to achieve a career Grand Slam in singles is looking better all the time. Nine-time champion Rafael Nadal withdrew because of a left wrist injury. He was scheduled to play fellow Spaniard Marcel Granollers in the third round.
   "I have to retire from the tournament because of a problem in my wrist that I have had for a couple of weeks," the left-hander, who will turn 30 next Friday, said at a news conference. "Yesterday I played with an injection in my wrist. Last night I started to feel more and more pain. I did an MRI and an echography, and the results were not positive. It's not broken, but if I keep playing, something will break in the next couple of days. Every day the image as gotten a bit worse.
   "I came here to win the tournament, and that means playing five more matches. Accoring to the doctor, that would be impossible, as there is a 100 percent chance something will break. I know that I cannot finish the tournament. It's part of life, and I hope to be back at Roland Garros for many years to come."
   Nadal lost only nine games in his two matches (six sets). Tied for second place with 14 Grand Slam singles titles, he has not won one since the 2014 French Open.
   Roger Federer withdrew before the French Open, saying he was not 100 percent. The 2009 champion at Roland Garros underwent knee surgery on Feb. 3 and pulled out of Madrid this month because of a recurring back problem.
   2. No. 21 seed Samantha Stosur ousted No. 11 Lucie Safarova, last year's runner-up to Serena Williams and doubles champion with Bethanie Mattek-Sands, 6-3, 6-7 (0), 7-5 in the third round.
   Safarova, a 29-year-old left-hander, has been plagued by injury and illness since last summer. She has suffered an abdominal strain, a bacterial illness, a wrist injury and, after winning the Prague title in her native Czech Republic in late April, food poisoning.
   Stosur, a 32-year-old Australian, won the 2011 U.S. Open and reached the final of the 2010 French Open.
   3. Unseeded Shelby Rogers of Charleston, S.C., toppled No. 10 Petra Kvitova, a two-time Wimbledon champion, 6-0, 6-7 (3), 6-0 to reach the fourth round of a Slam for the first time. The 23-year-old Rogers, ranked No. 108, will face No. 25 Irina-Camelia Begu of Romania.
   4. No. 3 Stan Wawrinka, the defending champion, defeated No. 30 Jeremy Chardy of France 6-4, 6-3, 7-5. Wawrinka will play No. 22 Viktor Troicki of Serbia in the round of 16. Troicki eliminated No. 16 Gilles Simon of France 6-4, 6-2, 6-2.
   5. No. 2 seeds Andy Murray and Agnieszka Radwanska advanced in consecutive matches on Court Suzanne-Lenglen. Murray will face No. 15 John Isner, and Radwanska will meet unseeded Tsvetana Pironkova of Bulgaria.

Northern California results

Men's doubles

Second round

   Former Stanford stars Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan (5), United States, def. Oliver Marach, Austria, and Fabrice Martin, France, 6-3, 7-6 (1). 

Women's doubles

Second round

   Aleksandra Krunic, Serbia, and Mirjana Lucic-Baroni, Croatia, def. San Jose resident and former Cal star Raquel (Kops-Jones) Atawo and Abigail Spears (8), United States, 7-6 (6), 6-3.

Mixed doubles

First round

   CoCo Vandeweghe and former Stanford star Bob Bryan (8), United States, def. Virginie Razzano and Vincent Millot, France, 6-3, 7-5.

   Jelena Jankovic and Nenad Zimonjic, Serbia, def. San Jose resident and former Cal star Raquel (Kops-Jones) Atawo and Raven Klaasen, South Africa, 7-6 (5), 6-4.

25K Redding singles matches postponed by rain

   REDDING, Calif. -- All seven opening-round singles matches scheduled for today in The Ascension Project Women's $25,000 Challenger were postponed by rain.
   The other nine first-round singles matches were played on Tuesday.
   Four doubles matches, completing the first round, were played indoors at Sun Oaks Tennis & Fitness, the site of the tournament, this afternoon.
   In a match between sister pairs, Alexandra and Kat Facey of Cameron Park in the Sacramento area edged Megan and Morgan McCray of Oceanside in Southern California 6-3, 4-6 [10-5]. The Faceys, last year's runners-up, are 22-year-old twins. Morgan, 21, is one year older than Megan.
   Lauren Embree, seeking her third straight Redding doubles title, and Ema Burgic Bucko of Bosnia and Herzegovina ousted No.3 seeds Paula Cristina Goncalves of Brazil and Jovana Jaksic of Serbia 6-4, 6-1. Embree won last year with Jennifer Brady and in 2013 with Robin Anderson.
   Also today, Brady and Caroline Doyle, a Stanford junior All-American from San Francisco, defeated Brynn Boren and Nadja Gilchrist 6-4, 7-5.
   Tournament director Julie Garcia said no singles matches were scheduled on the three indoor courts so club members could use them in the morning.
   Thursday's matches are scheduled to start one hour earlier at 9 a.m. on four outdoor courts rather than three. The forecast is for partly cloudy weather with a high of 77 degrees (25.0 Celsius). Redding's customary scorching September weather is expected to return from Friday's quarterfinals through Sunday's finals.
   Weather permitting, the winners of Wednesday's postponed matches will play twice in singles on Thursday. Including doubles, some competitors could play three matches in one day.
   Highlighting Thursday's schedule is a first-round singles match between top seed and defending champion Brady and Vania King, a former top-50 singles player and a two-time Grand Slam champion in women's doubles. King is playing her fifth tournament after missing almost one year with a herniated disc in her neck.
   Redding alumni include two-time Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka of Belarus and Lucie Safarova, who's ranked a career-high fifth in the world, of the Czech Republic. Ten years ago, Safarova won the title at age 18, and Azarenka reached the quarterfinals at 15.
   The Redding-based Ascension Project develops athletes into leaders.
   Note to readers: A feature story on King will be posted tonight.

THE ASCENSION PROJECT WOMEN'S $25,000 CHALLENGER

At Sun Oaks Tennis & Fitness in Redding, Calif.

First-round doubles

   Ema Burgic Bucko, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Lauren Embree, United States, def. Paula Cristina Goncalves, Brazil, and Jovana Jaksic (3), Serbia, 6-4, 6-1.

   Laura Schaeder and Anna Zaja, Germany, def. Lorraine Guillermo and Julia Jones, United States, 7-6 (3), 6-4.

   Alexandra Facey and Kat Facey, Cameron Park, def. Megan McCray and Morgan McCray, United States, 6-3, 4-6 [10-5].

   Jennifer Brady, United States, and Caroline Doyle, San Francisco, def. Brynn Boren and Nadja Gilchrist, United States, 6-4, 7-5.

Thursday's schedule

(Starting at 9 a.m.)

Court 2

   Jennifer Brady (1), United States, vs. Vania King, United States.

   Paula Cristina Goncalves, Brazil, vs. Megan McCray, United States.

   Lauren Embree (4), United States, vs. Anna Zaja, Germany.

   Petra Rampre, Slovenia, vs. Paula Cristina Goncalvez, Brazil, or Megan McCray, United States.

Court and time TBA

   Ashley Weinhold and Caitlin Whoriskey (1), United States, vs. Jennifer Brady, United States, and Caroline Doyle, San Francisco.  

Court 1

   Jovana Jaksic (3), Serbia, vs. Chiara Scholl, United States.

   Nadja Gilchrist, United States, vs. Sophie Chang, United States. 

   Jovana Jaksic (3), Serbia, or Chiara Scholl, United States, vs. Klaartje Liebens, Belgium, or Amy Zhu, United States.

   Nadja Gilchrist, United States, or Sophie Chang, United States, vs. Heidi El Tabakh (8), Canada, or Alexandra Stevenson, United States.

Court and time TBA

   Robin Anderson and Vania King, United States, vs. Alexandra Facey and Kat Facey, Cameron Park.

Court 3 

   Amy Zhu, United States, vs. Klaartje Liebens, Belgium.

   Heidi El Tabakh (8), Canada, vs. Alexandra Stevenson, United States.

   Julia Jones, United States, vs. Jennifer Brady (1), United States, or Vania King, United States.

Court and time TBA

   Ema Burgic Bucko, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Lauren Embree, United States, vs. Darya Possokhova, San Francisco, and Seriana Saltzen, Cameron Park.    

Court 4

   Ashley Weinhold, United States, vs. Varatchaya Wongteanchai (2), Thailand.

   Caitlin Whoriskey (6), United States, vs. Piia Suomalainen, Finland.

   Lauren Albanese, United States, vs. Varatchaya Wongteanchai (2), Thailand, or Ashley Weinhold.

Court and time TBA

   Michelle Sammons, South Africa, and Varatchaya Wongteanchai (2), Thailand, vs. Laura Schaeder and Anna Zaja, Germany.

Kyrgios minds his manners -- mostly -- in Open loss

Third-seeded Andy Murray and Nick Kyrgios meet in the first round tonight
at Arthur Ashe Stadium. A late-arriving crowd almost filled the 22,547-seat
facility, the world's largest for tennis. The retractable roof is scheduled to be
finished in time for the 2016 U.S. Open. Photo by Paul Bauman

   NEW YORK -- Nick Kyrgios was warned for an audible obscenity only once and slammed his racket on the court just once.
   By Kyrgios' standards, that's angelic.
   The 20-year-old Australian, playing on probation after committing a major offense last month in Montreal, lost to third-seeded Andy Murray 7-5, 6-3, 4-6, 6-1 tonight in the first round of the U.S. Open.
   It was a tantalizing matchup between a two-time Grand Slam champion, Murray, and a two-time Slam quarterfinalist with the potential to win multiple majors, according to John McEnroe.
   Murray, the 2012 U.S. Open champion, said Kyrgios "has played well pretty much in every Grand Slam tournament that he's been part of. He's had big wins and pushed a lot of guys extremely hard and caused a few upsets as well. I expected a very tough match, and that's what I got.”
   On the women's side, No. 6 Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic became the highest and latest women's seed to fall in the U.S. Open. The 28-year-old left-hander lost to Lesia Tsurenko of Ukraine 6-4, 6-1. 
   The highly entertaining, if volatile, Kyrgios pushed Murray with his powerful serve and whipping forehand, hit several "tweeners" (none of which resulted in winning the point), flipped his racket high in the air in frustration once and had the racket fly out of his hand on a forehand on another occasion.

Murray defeated Kyrgios in four sets.
Photo by Paul Bauman

   Murray, though, pounded 18 aces and saved 11 of 14 break points against him.
   After breaking Murray to win the third set, Kyrgios lost his serve at love in the opening game of the fourth set and was warned for an audible obscenity during the changeover. After Kyrgios held for 1-2, Murray won the last four games.
   “He’s unpredictable and can play all of the shots,” Murray told ESPN’s Brad Gilbert on the court after the victory. “It was a very tricky match."
   During Kyrgios' second-round victory over Stan Wawrinka on Aug. 12 in Montreal, a courtside microphone picked up Kyrgios saying that his Aussie friend, promising 19-year-old Thanasi Kokkinakis, had slept with Wawrinka's girlfriend, reportedly 19-year-old Croatian player Donna Vekic. Kyrgios later apologized on his Facebook page.
   Kyrgios was fined the on-site maximum of $10,000. He also was assessed $2,500 for unsportsmanlike conduct related to a comment made to a ball person during the match. 
   The ATP imposed a further fine of $25,000 and a 28-day suspension on Aug. 24. However, the penalties will be withheld if Kyrgios does not incur any fines for verbal or physical abuse or accumulate fines totaling more than $5,000 for any other offenses over the next six months.
   Safarova, this year's French Open runner-up, had beaten Tsurenko 6-2, 7-6 (4) last week in the semifinals at New Haven before falling to countrywoman Petra Kvitova.
   The 37th-ranked Tsurenko will meet Varvara Lepchenko, a U.S. citizen from Uzbekistan, on Thursday in the second round. Lepchenko, ranked 46th, dismantled Kirsten Flipkens of Belgium 6-1, 6-1. 
   Safarova is the fourth top-10 women's seed to lose in the opening round. No. 7 Ana Ivanovic, No. 8 Karolina Pliskova and No. 10 Carla Suarez Navarro fell on Monday.
   Also exiting today was No. 14 Timea Bacsinszky of Switzerland. Bacsinszky, a French Open semifinalist and Wimbledon quarterfinalist this year, bowed out to Czech veteran Barbora Strycova 7-5, 6-0.

Kyrgios slugs a forehand in his loss to Murray.
Photo by Paul Bauman

   Advancing easily were No. 2 seed Simona Halep of Romania and No. 11 Angelique Kerber, a German who won last month's Bank of the West Classic at Stanford.
   Donald Young of Atlanta scored one of the biggest wins of his career, overcoming 11th-seeded Gilles Simon of France 2-6, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4.
   Second-seeded Roger Federer, a five-time champion at Flushing Meadows (2004-08), drubbed Leonardo Mayer of Argentina 6-1, 6-2, 6-2.
   And Lleyton Hewitt, the 2001 titlist playing his last U.S. Open at 34, defeated Aleksandr Nedovyesov of Kazakhstan 6-0, 7-6 (2), 1-0, retired.
   In matches involving players with Northern California ties, former Stanford star Nicole Gibbs outlasted 34-year-old Lourdes Dominguez Lino of Spain 6-3, 3-6, 6-4, San Francisco native Sam Querrey lost to Nicolas Mahut of France 7-5, 7-6 (6), 7-5, and Jarmila Gajdosova of the Sacramento-based California Dream in World TeamTennis fell to 26th-seeded Flavia Pennetta of Italy 6-1, 3-6, 6-1.
   The 117th-ranked Gibbs, who reached the third round of last year's U.S. Open, will face Kvitova next. Kvitova, a two-time Wimbledon champion, demolished qualifier Laura Siegemund of Germany 6-1, 6-1.
   Kvitova is 1-0 against Gibbs, having won 6-2, 6-4 three years ago in the second round at New Haven while Gibbs was still at Stanford. Kvitova went on to win the title.
   Querrey, ranked 38th after reaching a career-high 17 in 2011, completed a dismal Grand Slam singles year. The 27-year-old veteran won one match, at Wimbledon, in the four majors. His best Grand Slam singles results are fourth-round appearances in the U.S. Open in 2008 and 2010 and at Wimbledon in 2010.
   Mahut, 33, won the title on grass at s-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands, in June as a qualifier. He is best known for losing to John Isner 70-68 in the fifth set in the first round at Wimbledon in 2010 in the longest match in tennis history (11 hours, 5 minutes over three days).

French Open Day 15: Wawrinka stuns Djokovic for title

Stan Wawrinka celebrates after winning a point during a light-
hearted drill at Indian Wells in March. Photo by Paul Bauman

   Men's singles final — With a spectacular display of shotmaking, eighth-seeded Stan Wawrinka toppled No. 1 Novak Djokovic 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 6-4 for his second Grand Slam title.
   Wawrinka, who had been 3-17 against Djokovic, ended the Serb's winning streak at 29 matches and prevented him from becoming the eighth man to achieve a career Grand Slam.
   Djokovic lost in the French Open final for the third time. He had eliminated nine-time French Open champion Rafael Nadal in the quarterfinals and two-time major winner Andy Murray in the semifinals.
   It's possible that Wawrinka -- with his powerful serve and groundstrokes, including a gorgeous one-handed backhand -- would have beaten anyone on Sunday and in last year's Australian Open final. However, he also had luck on his side each time.
   Nadal was hobbled by a back injury in Melbourne, and Wawrinka was more rested than Djokovic in Paris. While the 30-year-old Swiss had Saturday off, the 28-year-old Djokovic played the last set and a half of his 6-3, 6-3, 5-7, 5-7, 6-1 victory over Murray after rain suspended play on Friday night.
   Djokovic might have wilted after the first set against Wawrinka. Furthermore, when Wawrinka ripped a backhand passing shot down the line on his second championship point, Djokovic could have run for the ball but didn't. 
   Stars and stripes — Bethanie Mattek-Sands of Phoenix and Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic won their second straight Grand Slam women's doubles title. The seventh seeds defeated No. 12 Casey Dellacqua of Australia and Yaroslava Shvedova of Kazakhstan 3-6, 6-4, 6-2.
   Northern California connection — Mattek-Sands has reached the doubles semifinals of the Bank of the West Classic at Stanford twice, in 2006 with Sania Mirza and 2009 with Nadia Petrova. Mattek-Sands has not played in the tournament since 2010.
   Fast facts — Wawrinka became the oldest men's champion at Roland Garros since Andres Gomez, a slightly older 30-year-old, shocked Andre Agassi in 1990.
   In the past two years, Wawrinka has won two Grand Slam titles to countryman Roger Federer's none. 
   It's no coincidence that Wawrinka has won both of his Grand Slam titles since Magnus Norman became his coach in May 2013. Wawrinka dedicated the French Open crown to Norman, the runner-up to Gustavo Kuerten at Roland Garros in 2000 and the former coach of two-time French Open finalist Robin Soderling.
   Quotes — Wawrinka: "I played the match of my life."
   Djokovic, tearing up during the awards ceremony after a long ovation from the crowd: "It's not easy for me to speak right now, but I have to say that in life some things are more important than victories, and those are character and respect. I have great respect for you, Stan. You are a great champion with a big heart, and you deserve this title."
   Djokovic, on whether completing his semifinal victory on Saturday affected him in the final: "Maybe in some important moments, I didn't feel I had that explosivity in the legs, but look, in the end of the day, he was just a better player."

French Open Day 14 recap: Serena wins 20th major

Serena Williams trails only Margaret Court and Steffi Graf in career Grand Slam
singles titles. 2014 photo by Tri Nguyen/TriNguyenPhotography.com

   Women's singles final — Overcoming the flu and her nerves, top-seeded Serena Williams outslugged eighth-seeded Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic 6-3, 6-7 (2), 6-2 for her 20th Grand Slam singles title and third in the French Open.
   Serving to lead 5-1 in the second set, Williams double-faulted twice in a row to get broken for the first time, then double-faulted again for 4-4. After dropping the second set, she trailed 2-0 in the third set before winning the last six games.
   The 33-year-old Williams trails only Margaret Court (24) and Steffi Graf (22) on the career list. Aside from passing them, all that's left for Williams to accomplish is a calendar-year Grand Slam. For the first time in her career, she's halfway there. 
   Men's semifinals — Top-seeded Novak Djokovic completed a 6-3, 6-3, 5-7, 5-7, 6-1 victory over third-seeded Andy Murray. The match had been suspended by rain on Friday night.
   Djokovic, 28, is trying to become the eighth man to achieve a career Grand Slam. He also hopes to continue his bid for a calendar-year Slam. 
   Stars and stripes — Third-seeded Ivan Dodig of Croatia and Marcelo Melo, a 6-foot-8 (2.03-meter) Brazilian, topped Southern California natives Bob and Mike Bryan, seeded first, 6-7 (5), 7-6 (5), 7-5 for their first Grand Slam title.
   The 37-year-old Bryan twins have won a record of 16 major championships in men's doubles but only one in their last seven Slams.
   In the first all-American singles final in the 68-year history of the junior boys event, 13th-seeded Tommy Paul defeated No. 2 Taylor Harry Fritz 7-6 (4), 2-6, 6-2.
   Paul joined John McEnroe (1977) and Bjorn Fratangelo (2011) as the only Americans to win the boys singles title at Roland Garros in the Open era, which began in 1968.
   Despite Fritz's loss, the 6-foot-4 (1.93-meter) San Diego-area resident will rise to No. 1 in the boys world rankings on Monday. He'll become the first American to hold that distinction since Donald Young in 2005.   
   Meanwhile, both U.S. teams lost in the boys and girls doubles finals. Unseeded Alvaro Lopez San Martin and Jaume Munar of Spain handled fourth-seeded Williams Blumberg and Paul 6-4, 6-2. Also, top-seeded Miriam Kolodziejova and Marketa Vondrousova of the Czech Republic routed No. 6 Caroline Dolehide and Katerina Stewart 6-0, 6-3.
   Northern California connection — Williams won her third Bank of the West title at Stanford last year. The Bryans played at Stanford in 1997 and 1998, helping the Cardinal win the NCAA team title each year.
   Fast facts — Williams has won the last three Grand Slam singles titles, becoming the first woman since Jennifer Capriati in 2001 to capture the Australian Open and French Open in the same year.
   Quote — Williams: "When I was a little girl, in California, my father and my mother wanted me to play tennis. And now I'm here, with 20 Grand Slam (singles) titles."
   Men's singles final — Djokovic (1) vs. Stan Wawrinka (8), today at 6 a.m. PDT on NBC.
   Djokovic leads the head-to-head series 17-3, but Wawrinka will be better rested after winning his semifinal against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in four sets on Friday.
   Djokovic won the last meeting 7-6 (1), 3-6, 6-4, 4-6, 6-0 in the semifinals of this year's Australian Open. He proceeded to win his fifth title in the tournament.

French Open Day 12: Serena, Safarova gain final

Serena Williams, practicing during the Bank of the
West Classic at Stanford last summer, overcame the
flu and a big deficit to reach the French Open final.
Photo by Paul Bauman

   Women's semifinals -- Battling the flu, top-seeded Serena Williams pulled off another comeback to defeat No. 23 Timea Bacsinszky of Switzerland 4-6, 6-3, 6-0 in the semifinals.
   Williams dropped the first set for the fourth time in her last five matches and trailed 3-2 in the second set on Bacsinszky's serve. Williams then reeled off the last 10 games, advancing to the final against 13th-seeded Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic (Saturday at 6 a.m. PDT on NBC).
   Safarova, 28, beat Serbia's Ana Ivanovic, the seventh seed and 2008 champion, 7-5, 7-5 to reach her first Grand Slam singles final. Safarova won her first major title in this year's Australian Open, teaming with American Bethanie Mattek-Sands in women's doubles. 
   Stars and stripes -- The 33-year-old Williams, who grew up in Compton in the Los Angeles area, is trying to join Margaret Court (24) and Steffi Graf (22) as the only players to win at least 20 Grand Slam singles titles.
   Southern California natives Bob and Mike Bryan, seeded first, dismissed Italians Simone Bolleli and Fabio Fognini, the sixth seeds and reigning Australian Open champions, 6-3, 6-3 to reach the final.
   The 37-year-old Bryan twins will play third-seeded Ivan Dodig of Croatia and Marcelo Melo of Brazil. They outclassed fifth-seeded Jean-Julien Rojer of the Netherlands and Horia Tecau of Romania 6-3, 7-5.
   Mattek-Sands and Mike Bryan, seeded second in mixed doubles, captured the title with a 7-6 (3),  6-1 triumph over unseeded Lucie Hradecka of the Czech Republic and Marcin Matkowski of Poland.
   Three Americans and one Frenchman advanced to the semifinals in junior boys singles. Second-seeded Taylor Fritz will meet No. 4 Corentin Denolly of France, and No. 6 Michael Mmoh will face No. 13 Tommy Paul.
   In the junior girls quarterfinals, fourth-seeded CiCi Bellis of the United States routed unseeded Jill Teichmann of Switzerland 6-2, 6-1, but American Katerina Stewart, seeded third, lost to No. 12 Paula Badosa Gibert of Spain 6-2, 6-2.
   The United States has one team in both the boys and girls doubles semis: No. 4 William Blumberg and Paul, and No. 6 Caroline Dolehide and Stewart. 
   Northern California connection -- Williams won her third Bank of the West title at Stanford last year. The Bryans played at Stanford in 1997 and 1998, helping the Cardinal win the NCAA team title each year. Bellis, 16, lives in Atherton in the San Francisco Bay Area.
   Fast facts --Williams is 11-0 in three-set matches this year and 31-1 overall (not counting two walkover losses). The defeat came against Petra Kvitova in the Madrid semifinals on clay last month.
   Safarova has not lost a set in her six French Open matches, including a fourth-round victory over defending champion Maria Sharapova.
   Quote -- Williams: "I don't think I've ever been this sick. I didn't expect to win that. I really didn't. I can't believe I won."
   Friday's men's semifinals -- Stan Wawrinka (8) vs. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (14), 4 a.m. PDT, followed by Novak Djokovic (1) vs. Andy Murray (3), Tennis Channel (delayed on NBC, 11 a.m.-2 p.m.).
   Djokovic is 18-8 against Murray with a seven-match winning streak (all on hardcourts). Djokovic leads 2-0 on clay, winning 7-6 in the third set in the 2011 Italian Open semifinals in their last meeting on the surface.
  The Wawrinka-Tsonga series is tied 3-3. Wawrinka has won the last two matches, both on clay.

French Open Day 9: Defending champ Sharapova out

No. 2 seed and defending champion Maria Sharapova,
suffering from a cold, lost to No. 13 Lucie Safarova
in the fourth round. 2014 photo by Paul Bauman 

   Upset of the day -- Maria Sharapova's streak of three French Open finals ended as the No. 2 seed and defending champion fell to No. 13 Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic 7-6 (3), 6-4 in the fourth round.
   Sharapova, who also won the title in 2012, coughed because of a cold throughout the tournament. Safarova, a 28-year-old left-hander, reached the Wimbledon semifinals last year. 
   Match of the day -- For the third match in a row, top-seeded Serena Williams won after dropping the first set. The 33-year-old star came within one game of losing in her 1-6, 7-5, 6-3 victory over fellow American Sloane Stephens. After trailing 6-1, 5-4, Williams won nine of the last 12 games.
   Notable -- No. 23 seed Timea Bacsinszky of Switzerland ousted No. 4 Petra Kvitova, a two-time Wimbledon champion from the Czech Republic, 2-6, 6-0, 6-3.
   Besides two-time French Open champ Williams, the only top-10 seed left in the women's draw is No. 7 Ana Ivanovic, the 2008 French Open winner and a former world No. 1. Williams and Ivanovic could meet in the final.
   No. 1 seed Novak Djokovic will face No. 6 Rafael Nadal on Wednesday in the quarterfinals. It will be a rematch of last year's final, won by Nadal in four sets. 
    Fourth-round men's results -- Djokovic def. No. 20 Richard Gasquet 6-1, 6-2, 6-3; No. 2 Roger Federer def. No. 13 Gael Monfils 6-3, 4-6, 6-4, 6-1; No. 3 Andy Murray def. Jeremy Chardy 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2; Nadal def. Jack Sock 6-3, 6-1, 5-7, 6-2; No. 7 David Ferrer def. No. 9 Marin Cilic 6-2, 6-2, 6-4.
   Other fourth-round women's results -- No. 17 Sara Errani def. Julia Goerges 6-2, 6-2; No. 21 Garbine Muguruza def. No. 28 Flavia Pennetta 6-3, 6-4; Alison Van Uytvanck def. Andreea Mitu 6-1, 6-3.   
   Men's quarterfinal matchups -- No. 1 Djokovic vs. No. 6 Nadal, No. 3 Murray vs. No. 7 Ferrer, No. 5 Kei Nishikori vs. No. 14 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, No. 2 Federer vs. No. 8 Stan Wawrinka.
   Women's quarterfinal matchups -- No. 1 Williams vs. No. 17 Errani, No. 23 Bacsinszky vs. Van Uytvanck, No. 7 Ivanovic vs. No. 19 Elina Svitolina, No. 13 Safarova vs. No. 21 Muguruza.
   Stars and stripes -- Williams is the only American left in singles, men's or women's.
   In the first round of junior girls singles, No. 4 CiCi Bellis triumphed, but No. 11 Sofia Kenin lost. On the boys side, No. 6 Michael Mmoh and No. 13 Tommy Paul advanced, but No. 9 William Blumberg fell.
   Northern California connection -- Bellis, 16, lives in Atherton.
   The fourth-seeded team of Michaela Gordon, 15, of Saratoga and Charlotte Robillard-Millette of Canada won in the opening round of junior girls doubles.
   Fast fact -- Williams is 10-0 in three-set matches this year.
   Quote -- Sharapova on her illness: "I don't like to talk about it, and I don't think it really makes a difference."
   Today on Court Philippe Chatrier (starting at 5 a.m. PDT, Tennis Channel 5-10 a.m., ESPN2 10 a.m.-12:30 p.m.) -- No. 7 Ivanovic vs. No. 19 Svitolina, No. 5 Nishikori vs. No. 14 Tsonga.
   Today on Court Suzanne Lenglen (starting at 5 a.m. PDT, Tennis Channel 5-10 a.m., ESPN2 10 a.m.-12:30 p.m.) -- No. 13 Safarova vs. No. 21 Muguruza, No. 2 Federer vs. No. 8 Wawrinka.