French Open, Day 9: Monfils advances, Sloane Stephens goes down
Monday at Roland Garros was fairly calm, considering how things went the first week at the French Open.
Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray, Sara Errani and Gael Monfils all took care of their fourth-round matches in straight sets, with David Ferrer needing four sets to advance to the quarterfinals on clay.
Monfils' play might have been the most impressive considering the moment, with the 27-year-old Frenchman winning 6-0, 6-2, 7-5 over Guillermo Garcia-Lopez to advance to his fourth quarters at Roland Garros (Monfils has made just one quarterfinal at the three other Grand Slams, taking place at the 2010 U.S. Open).
Monfils will now face a red-hot Murray for a spot in the semifinals, and while the crowd will definitely be behind Monfils, it will take a monumental effort for him to get past Murray (Murray holds a 3-2 advantage all-time over Monfils).
The biggest upset for American fans took place on Monday when Sloane Stephens was defeated by Simona Halep 6-4, 6-3.
Stephens might be the future of American tennis right now, but the 21-year-old is still looking for her first appearance in a Grand Slam final. Stephens was bounced in the fourth round at the French Open for the third straight year.
The exit by Stephens means no American is left in the quarterfinals on either side of the draw at Roland Garros.
Tuesday will see Maria Sharapova face Garbine Muguruza, Novak Djokovic take on Milos Raonic, Carla Suarez Navarro battle Eugenie Bouchard and Tomas Berdych meet Ernests Gulbis in quarterfinal matches.
