Nadal, Ferrer reach round of 16 in Paris; Murray match suspended

Published February 05, 2015

Paris, France (SportsNetwork.com) - Eight-time champion Rafael Nadal and last year's runner-up David Ferrer reached the fourth round, while Wimbledon titlist Andy Murray will have to wait until Sunday to complete his third- rounder at the French Open.

The world No. 1 great Nadal improved to 3-0 lifetime against Leonardo Mayer by handling the Argentine 6-2, 7-5, 6-2 on the Spaniard's beloved red clay at Court Chatrier.

After the match, Nadal thanked the Chatrier crowd in French for supporting him and told them "a lot of memories come through my mind" whenever he plays in that stadium.

Nadal is now 62-1 lifetime at Roland Garros, where he's won four straight and eight of the last nine titles. He beat Ferrer in last year's all-Spanish finale and has won his last 31 matches overall at this Parisian major.

The 27-year-old Nadal is trying to become the first man to win five straight French Open titles.

The reigning French and U.S. Open champion's fourth-round opponent will be talented Serb Dusan Lajovic.

The fifth-seeded Ferrer, meanwhile, got past 32nd-seeded Italian Andreas Seppi 6-2, 7-6 (7-2), 6-3 on Day 7.

Ferrer posted his 35th win at Roland Garros, one shy of Alex Corretja for the second-most by a Spaniard at this clay-court Grand Slam, and continued his dominance of Seppi, beating the Italian for the seventh time in as many meetings without dropping a set.

Ferrer, like Nadal, did not lose a set in Week 1 in Paris.

Seppi fell to 6-64 all-time against top-10 players, including only one win in his last 50 tries.

Ferrer will next play Kevin Anderson. The 19th-seeded South African slugger earned a spot in the round of 16 when Croatia's Ivo Karlovic retired with an apparent back injury after dropping the first set 6-3.

Anderson has matched his best showing at a Grand Slam. Last year, he became the first South African man to reach the fourth round at the French Open since Wayne Ferreira in 1996.

The seventh-seeded Murray was locked in a 3-6, 6-3, 6-3, 4-6, 7-7 dogfight with 28th-seeded German Philipp Kohlschreiber, who's fresh off his title in Duesseldorf, when play was suspended because of darkness. With no fifth-set tiebreaks at the French, someone will have to win by two games on Sunday.

Flashy Frenchman Gael Monfils, seeded 23rd, posted an upset by tackling 14th- seeded Italian Fabio Fognini 5-7, 6-2, 6-4, 0-6, 6-2 in perhaps the most entertaining match of the week thus far.

The last time Fognini and Monfils met at Roland Garros in 2010, the Italian won in five sets in a controversial match that was suspended because of darkness at 5-5 in the fifth set amidst boos and jeers.

The aforementioned Lajovic moved into the round of 16 by defeating American Jack Sock 6-4, 7-5, 6-3.

The 83rd-ranked Lajovic is playing in only his second major tournament. He lost in the second round to Japan's Kei Nishikori at the Australian Open in January.

"It's my first Roland Garros main draw appearance and first time in the fourth round, so I can't be more happy than this," said Lajovic. "Maybe to play Rafa on Chatrier is one of the biggest dreams and biggest challenges. So for sure it's not going to be easy.

"You need to have a lot of tips and confidence to beat [Nadal], but I hope to enjoy the match if he wins and to give my best."

Also on Saturday, Spaniard Marcel Granollers overcame Slovak Martin Klizan, 6-7 (5-7), 6-2, 7-6 (7-4), 7-5 and Spain's Guillermo Garcia-Lopez outlasted American left-hander Donald Young 6-2, 6-4, 2-6, 6-7 (4-7), 6-4. Garcia-Lopez will meet Monfils on Monday.

Another match was suspended due to insufficient light, as 24th-seeded Spanish left-hander Fernando Verdasco was leading 12th-seeded Frenchman Richard Gasquet 6-3, 6-2, 2-2 when play was called. The Gasquet-Verdasco winner will meet the eventual Murray-Kohlschreiber victor.

The fourth round will commence Sunday, including matches for second-seeded former French Open runner-up Novak Djokovic and fourth-seeded former champ Roger Federer. The former world No. 1 Djokovic will take on 13th-seeded Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, while the former top-ranked great Federer will meet 18th-seeded Latvian Ernests Gulbis. In addition to titling here in 2009, Federer is a four-time Roland Garros runner-up to Nadal, who beat Djokovic in the final here two years ago.

Also on Day 8, sixth-seeded Tomas Berdych will battle 10th-seeded 6-foot-9 American John Isner and eighth-seeded Canadian Milos Raonic will play Granollers.

URL

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