And with that I’m gone. It’s been a day of ups, downs and injuries, with a couple of matches that never started, and a couple of absolute crackers. I’ll be back for more tomorrow. Bye!
The action’s over, so let the reading begin – here’s Kevin Mitchel on Rafael Nadal and Diego Schwartzman:
Marin Cilic has a chat:
It was just a crazy match. I played the first two sets quite solid, Fabio was giving me some chances. Third set I gave him a chance, and fourth set he played an amazing tie break. Fifth set it was hanging by a thread and just a couple of points decided it in the end.
I was so frustrated on some occasions. A lot of opportunities and just missing some balls. It was not easy to keep going, keep going. It was a lot of ups and downs but I was really satisfied at the end with the way I was fighting.
I saw Juan Martin won, so it’s going to be a tough match against him. He’s playing great this season and it’s going to be a pleasure to play him again.
Marin Cilic beats Fabio Fognini 6-4, 6-1, 3-6, 6-7, 6-3
And he’s done it! Eventually!
Cilic fires in an excellent return, and then puts away a forehand down the line. 15-30. Fognini responds with a backhand drop shot, which has worked well for him in this match. 30-30. Another excellent return puts Cilic in charge of the next point, and he never loosens his grip. Match point.
Cilic holds, not without difficulty, closing it out with an ace. 5-3, and Fognini is serving to stay in the match.
Then, the contrary old tyke, he hits a double fault, an unforced error and finally the top of the net, the ball spinning away into irrelevance, and from 40-30 Cilic has broken! It’s 4-3 in the final set.
At 0-30 Fognini, at full strength, comes up with a superb crosscourt backhand passing shot, which he follows with an ace, digging himself out of trouble quite beautifully.
Britwatch: not a good day for the best of British talent: Jack Draper lost to Spain’s Nicolas Alvarez Varona in straight sets; Aiden McHugh lost 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 to Antoine Cornut-Chauvinc, Emma Raducanu lost 6-2, 6-1 to Clara Tauson, and George Loffhagen, with his American partner Tristan Boyer, lost to France’s Baptiste Anselmo and Emilien Voisin. That’s four matches, in which the various Britons won a combined total of one set. Draper and McHugh were supposed to play against each other in the boys’ doubles on Court 9 – which would have guaranteed at least one British success – but for whatever reason it doesn’t seem to have happened.
With serve so far in the fifth set on Chatrier, 2-1, but Cilic has been warned for his timing, which is ironic given the lengthy breaks Fognini has forced upon the him.
I don’t know what the physio did to Fognini’s ankles, but whatever it was he deserves a pay rise. The Italian is getting fresher and less injured the longer the match goes on.
The winner of this match will play Del Potro in the quarter-finals, with Rafael Nadal or Diego Shwartzman loitering with intent in the semi-finals.
Fognini wins the fourth-set tie break 7-4, and levels the match at two sets apiece!
An unforced error loses the first, with his forehand landing a foot long.
Fognini is all over this tie break, and has three set points to level the match!
The women’s quarter-final line-up in full:
Simona Halep v Angelique Kerber
Garbine Muguruza v Maria Sharapova
Yulia Putintseva v Madison Keys
Sloane Stephens v Daria Kasatkina
Fognini loses the first point but wins the rest, with another ace – he’s still outgunning Cilic – and a lovely forehand drop shot along the way. The fourth set will be decided on a tie break.
Cilic holds to take a 6-5 lead in the fourth, and Fognini will once again serve to stay in the match.
Here’s tomorrow’s order of play on the two main show courts, where play is due to get under way at 1pm BST/2pm local:
Court Philippe Chatrier
Dominic Thiem (7) v Alexander Zverev (2)
Sloane Stephens (10) v Daria Kasatkina (14)
Court Suzanne Lenglen
Yulia Putinsteva v Madison Keys (13)
Marco Cecchinato v Novak Djokovic (20)
Cilic has just earned, and then lost, a match point on Fognini’s serve, and the Italian goes on to hold to make the score 5-5 in the fourth.
Updated
“I’m thinking the bumper number of medical issues today are all in support of Serena,” suggests Andrew Benton.
So Muguruza moves on to a quarter-final against the even more rested Maria Sharapova!
Garbiñe Muguruza beats Lesia Tsurenko 2-0 ret
Tsurenko plays on for a bit with a heavily strapped left thigh, but she never looks at ease and at 0-2, 0-30 she shakes her head and it’s all over!
Juan Martín del Potro beats John Isner 6-4, 6-4, 6-4
That had the look of potential marathon about it, but Del Potro produced a solid performance against an uninspired opponent to go through in straight sets!
Isner fights his way back to deuce and then hits an excellent return, but when given the chance to put away a forehand from midcourt he hits is mystifyingly, and extremely, wide. Another match point is the result.
Tsurenko is back, and ready to play. Meanwhile on Lenglen, it’s match point Del Potro.
Muguruza, meanwhile, is pacing a baseline, bouncing a ball with her racket.
And Tsurenko is leaving the court to receive further treatment. What a weird turn of events, particularly for the people who have rushed from wherever they were to Court 1 upon hearing an exciting match was about to begin, and have got there just in time to see it stop. Tsurenko seemed fine at the start but pulled up shortly after stretching to her right to return a serve, feeling her left hamstring.
Not a good sign dept: Three points into the second game, Tsurenko goes back to her chair and calls for the physio.
Not only has the Muguruza-Tsurenko match been moved, it has already started! Muguruza broke in the first game of the match, and thus leads 1-0.
Updated
Fognini has called a medical time out and brought the physio back on, this time to look at his left foot – his right has already been looked at.
Lenglen might be free before long: Del Potro has broken Isner in the third game of the third set, and so leads 2-1 with the first two sets already in the bank.
Apparently the match between Garbiñe Muguruza and Lesia Tsurenko, which is due to be played on Lenglen after the end of the Del Potro/Isner encounter, could be moved to Court 1, which is currently empty with their three scheduled doubles matches all completed.
Cilic saves two break points to hold the first game of the fourth set.
Del Potro has won the second set against Isner, and leads 6-4, 6-4.
Fognini wins the third set 6-3! The 31-year-old Italian is nailing some splendid shots at the moment, and is really watchable. He’s 5ft 10in, eight inches shorter than Cilic, but has hit more aces in this match (6-5), is moving a fair bit more freely than he was a set ago, and frankly anything could happen from here. Cilic leads 6-4, 6-1, 3-6.
Del Potro is a break up in the second set against Isner on Suzanne Lenglen, and has just held to take a 5-3 lead, with the first set already safely banked.
Cilic breaks back, but can’t consolidate it – after a long slog of a game, Fognini breaks and leads the third set 3-1. Cilic fires some angry words at his coaching team up in the stands.
And now Cilic has been broken! This is a truly curious match of tennis.
It looks like the only thing keeping Fognini going is a bloody-minded refusal not to give up at this stage of a Grand Slam – and the possibility that rain might give him an extra day to recover from his ankle issues. But he’s still got some shots, and despite hardly running manages to hold to 15.
Cilic wins the game and the second set, and leads 6-4, 6-1. Fognini seems happy – or at least willing – to play on, but first he’s hobbling off court with a clean shirt, to put it on in peace.
Del Potro wins the first set against Isner 6-4, even though Isner has a killer serve, sent down five aces to his own one, and had a 76% first-serve percentage to his own 55%. Each player won precisely 27 points.
Fognini is broken, in a multitude of senses, but plays on. Cilic will serve for the set at 5-1.
Fonigni keeps playing, and even holds serve. Cilic then holds to love. The fans on Philippe Chatrier, who were supposed to have seen Williams v Sharapova before this, could be treated to a walkover/withdrawal double-whammy.
Nothing to do with the weather: Fognini is unhappy, and is unlacing his right foot to show the physio something. He was given a tablet 15 minutes ago or so, but appears to have a problem with his ankle.
Cilic has broken early in the second set, and thus leads 2-0. Some chap is sitting courtside and muttering darkly into a walkie-talkie, potentially about the weather. Rain was forecast for this afternoon, but has so far fallen elsewhere.
Isner and Del Potro have just got started on Lenglen, where the score is currently 2-1, and going with serve, in the first set.
Here’s some video of Serena Williams announcing her departure from the French Open:
And now Cilic has won the set 6-4! Wild swings of fortune here, and the only reliable rule seems to be: see who I most recently said was on top, and assume the opposite is now true.
Since I wrote that Fognini hadn’t stopped winning he’s stopped winning. It’s now 4-4 but only after a bit of furious racket-bouncing from the Italian as he struggled to hold.
Since I wrote that Fognini wasn’t winning he hasn’t stopped winning, fighting back from 0-3 down to level the first set at 3-3.
Angelique Kerber beats Caroline Garcia 6-2, 6-3
And Garcia’s 37th unforced error of the match will be her last, as she hits a forehand wide to hand Kerber victory!
Updated
Another match point on Lenglen, where Kerber has a break point.
Then Garcia breaks to 15, totally controlling the game, and the deficit is down to two games (and also a set).
The toss is the only thing Fognini has won so far – he’s 0-3 down in the first set.
Updated
Garcia saves four match points to win a marathon game against Kerber. She’s still 2-5 down in the second set, but she showed some fighting spirit there.
Kerber is speeding towards a quarter-final meeting with Halep, leading Garcia as she does 5-1 in the second set.
Coin-tossing latest: Fognini wins he toss and chooses to receive.
So, a little earlier than expected, it’s Marin Cilic v Fabio Fognini next on Chatrier, where by the looks of things the crowd has staged a mass walk-out in protest at being denied a Serena Williams v Maria Sharapova match.
The second set doesn’t bring an immediate change in fortunes for Garcia – she’s broken to 15 in the first game, hitting a backhand wide on game point – her 21st unforced error (Kerber has hit seven).
Video shows Serena couldn’t even carry her bag off court Sunday b/c of her pec injury. pic.twitter.com/iglWZlnWOa
— Adam Zagoria (@AdamZagoria) June 4, 2018
Angelique Kerber wins the first set against Caroline Garcia 6-2. Five of their six previous matches have been won in straight sets.
Apparently Serena couldn’t carry her bag off court after yesterday’s doubles match.
Angelique Kerber has started her match against Caroline Garcia extremely strongly – she’s 5-2 up in the first set, with two breaks of serve.
Updated
From the few snatches of yesterday’s doubles match that I’ve seen, she is a very long way from being able to play at her highest level.
@Simon_Burnton Serena must be really injured, if she feels that she cannot even beat Maria :)
— Shankar Mony (@shankarmony) June 4, 2018
We have a report on Serena Williams’ injury here:
Eurosport show a bit of Serena’s press conference:
The first time I felt it was against Goerges in my last match. I was like, oh my. It was really painful, and I didn’t know what it was. In my doubles I tried a lot of different tapings and different types of support to see how it would feel under match circumstance, and it didn’t get a lot better.
I’m going to stay here and see as many specialists as I can. There’s a lot of theories. I’ve never had this before. I’ve never felt this in my life, this is so painful. So I don’t really know how to manage it yet. When you do have an injury you’ve had before you can kind of manage it, but this is a little different. I’m clueless as to what to do. So I’m just going to do what the doctors think I should do, and get all the evaluations on it.
Rafael Nadal beats Max Marterer 6-3, 6-2, 7-6
Marterer overhits a forehand, and Nadal is into another quarter-final. It is, once again, a straight-sets victory, but he really had to work for this one.
Updated
Crunch time on Chatrier, where Nadal has three match points.
Serena says she is hopeful of playing at Wimbledon, but this doesn’t sound good:
I’ve never felt this in my life. This is so painful. I’ve pretty much had every injury in the book.
If I’m not at least 60% or 50%, I probably shouldn’t play. The fact I physically can’t serve at all is a good indication I should go back to the drawing board … and not get it to the point where it can get a lot worse
Nadal and Marterer, meanwhile, are in the middle of a third-set tie break, trading vicious blows like gladiators.
Another Serena snippet. This is apparently the 16th time she has withdrawn from a competition, but the first time it has happened in a Grand Slam:
It’s very difficult because I love playing Maria. It’s a match I always get up for. Its extremely disappointing but I made a promise to myself that if I’m not at least 50%, I shouldn’t play.
More from Serena:
In my doubles yesterday I tried a lot of different tapings and support. It didn’t get a lot better. Every match has been getting better, physically I’ve been great. I can only take solace in the fact that I’m going to get better.
Here’s some footage:
Serena: ‘right now I can’t actually serve so it’s kind of hard to play when you can’t serve’ pic.twitter.com/V2fV4Dw3ae
— Adam Zagoria (@AdamZagoria) June 4, 2018
Absolute confirmation coming through, in the shape of quotes from Serena’s press conference.
I unfortunately been having some issues with my pec muscle... right now I can’t actually serve so it’s actually hard to play when I can’t physically serve. I’m beyond disappointed. I gave up so much from time with my daughter and time with my family all for this moment. So it’s really difficult to be in this situation.
I would be disappointed about being denied a Williams v Sharapova showdown, but I bought a bunch of grapes at lunch and they’re all squidgy, and frankly I’m as low as I can get.
There will be questions about Serena Williams’ decision to play both singles and doubles at the French Open – she and Venus lost in a three-setter last night – though given her lack of match practice it probably wasn’t such a bad idea.
Marterer holds serve, and leads 6-5 in the third. Nadal will again serve to stay in the set.
Updated
Mary Carillo, the American broadcaster and former player, has confirmed the news that Serena Williams is out of the French Open.
BREAKING: Looks like Serena Williams is out of the French Open. On her way to the interview room.
— kevin mitchell (@kevinmitchell50) June 4, 2018
Williams is apparently on her way to the press conference room.
Nadal is serving to stay in the third set against Marterer, at 4-5. If he wins this set, Williams v Sharapova would be on next. In theory.
Sounds virtually certain Serena won't play - may go on court and give an explanation to the crowd
— Tom Tebbutt (@tomtebbutt) June 4, 2018
According to France TV, Serena Williams has a muscular injury.
Serena Williams vers un forfait ? Arnaud Boetsch a rencontré Guy Forget qui lui aurait confirmé une blessure musculaire pour l'Américaine qui pourrait la pousser vers un forfait face à Maria Sharapova aujourd'hui ! #RG18 #ROLANDGARROS pic.twitter.com/wIMNVKr6j3
— France tv sport (@francetvsport) June 4, 2018
Next out on Suzanne Lenglen is Angelique Kerber, who has never got past the quarter-finals here and is seeded 12th, against Caroline Garcia, who is the No7 seed, is from (near enough) Paris and will have the crowd on her side.
Hello!
So, I’m back. And talking of backs, word is Serena’s is causing her problems …
Rumours here that Serena Williams has pulled out. I've just spoken to someone close to Maria Sharapova and they are not aware at moment if that is the case. #RolandGarros
— Stuart Fraser (@stu_fraser) June 4, 2018
Simon is back from his break, I’ll pass you back over. Cheers!
Diego Schwartzman beats Kevin Anderson 1-6, 2-6, 7-5, 7-6, 6-2!
Schwartzman closes it out with an ace! Remarkable! Anderson was serving for the match in the third set, but Schwartzman turned it round and now goes into the quarter finals at the Roland Garros for the first time!
The two players shake hands at the net, the difference in height is laughable. Schwartzman, beaming, comes up to about Anderson’s nipple.
Updated
Big chance for Schwartzman here in the deciding fifth set. A big Anderson forehand catches the net chord and bounces long. Anderson, break point down, takes his time in collecting himself at the back of the court, so much so that the umpire gives him a warning. First serve is out, Anderson serve and volleys his second effort, but Schwartzman reads it and fires a low return onto Anderson’s toes, before the Argentinian finishes Anderson off with a classy forehand cross-court. Anderson was stranded at the net, even his wingspan couldn’t help him there.
Two sets down, Schwartzman leads 5-2 in the fifth. He’s never previously come back from two sets down to win before …
Yep, Nadal breaks straight back. Marterer is trying everything here, but a crafty drop shot is well read by Nadal, who easily reaches the bounce in time and sends a winner down the line. Marterer looks up at his coaches and just shrugs, as if to say: “what am I supposed to do here?”
Still, the German still leads here in the third, 3-2, with Nadal back on serve.
Marterer breaks Nadal! He’s two sets down but holds a 3-1 lead in the third set. Nadal looks incredibly annoyed at himself. Let’s see how he responds. It’s the hottest part of the day – about 25°C – and Nadal will want to close this one out in straight sets to conserve energy.
Yet another break, as Schwartzman finally prevails in the fifth game of the final set. He’s 3-2 up there, after Anderson squirts a backhand into the tramlines.
Side note: Schwartzman v Giovinco: discuss.
Anderson has found a little bit of rhythm. He’s being a bit more conservative with his groundstrokes, but there are less unforced errors in this set, and we’re back on serve at 2-2 after three consecutive breaks of serve.
Britwatch: It’s not going well for GB in the girls singles: Emma Raducanu has been broken in the first set of her second round match against Denmark’s Clara Tauson. Better in the boys and Britain’s Aidan McHugh has just tied the scores at one set each, beating France’ Antoine Cornut-Chauvinc 6-4 in the second set with a late break of serve.
Nadal beats Marterer to the second set: 6-2
The Spaniard now leads 6-3, 6-2. Nadal will go for a quick comfort break and then we’ll get on with what is probably the final set of Marterer’s French Open.
Updated
The biggest weapon for Anderson is his serve, but he’s landing less than half of his first serves in at present. His biggest weakness is his fitness at this point, Schwartzman’s energy is prolonging the rallies, and soon or later Anderson goes for a big winner simply because he doesn’t have the legs to carry on. At the moment, those shots are wide, long and in the net.
Anderson is broken by Schwartzman at the first attempt, the highlight of the game coming with a brilliant improvised lob from the Argentinian, who finds the baseline after perfectly judging his shot over the tall frame of Anderson.
Meanwhile, over on Philippe Chatrier, Nadal has broken Marterer for a second time in this second set, converting the third of his set points after the German plants a tired forehand halfway up the net.
Nadal will serve for the second set, he’s 6-3, 5-2 up.
Schwartzman wins the fourth set against Anderson – we're going the distance!
A double-fault from Anderson seals his miserable tie-break, he didn’t win a point. Unless he can get himself together at the break, you’d say that there is only one winner out here: Schwartzman looks fitter and seems to have the mental edge.
It’s all square though, two sets each.
Error after error from Anderson means Schwartzman takes a 6-0 lead in the tie-break! Anderson looks knackered, mentally he’s gone. Five set points for Schwartzman.
Anderson makes no mistake in holding serve. I mean he should be doing that really. At 6ft8in, he’s over a foot taller than Schwartzman at 5ft7in – the Argentinian is the same height as his compatriot Lionel Messi.
Anderson looks pumped up though, bouncing around on the baseline like a bunny.
Hello everyone. Anderson is losing his head here a bit. Groundstrokes have become a bit ragged he lazily shunts one long to gift Schwartzman his serving game. The Argentinian has gone from 5-3 down in this set to 6-5 up, and now Anderson is serving to stay in the set.
And with that, I’m going to pop out for a few minutes. Michael Butler will make sure you don’t miss anything – email him here if you fancy. Bye for now!
Well that didn’t go as Anderson had planned. At 0-30 he comes to the net, plays a reasonable drop volley, and Schwartzman not only reaches it but produces a perfect lob! A few moments and an excellent topspun forehand pass later, it’s 5-5!
Updated
Schwartzman, 40-0 up on his own serve, pushes his second serve a little too hard and double faults. It seems a risk worth taking at the time, but probably less so a few moments later at deuce. He might have made life a bit more difficult for himself but Schwartzman does eventually hold, and Anderson will serve for the match at 5-4 in the fourth.
Like the first set, the second set on Philippe Chatrier has begun with a break of serve. This time it was Nadal doing the breaking, and after holding his own serve he’s a set and 2-0 up and has won eight of the last nine games.
At 30-30 on the Anderson serve, Schwartzman has a sniff of opportunity. An ace down the middle, Anderson’s 17th of the match (his opponent has, meanwhile, mustered one) and an overhit forehand from the Argentinian later Anderson leads 5-3 and Schwartzman is serving to stay in the match.
From 0-2 down Nadal wins six games out of seven to go a set up against Marterer, and is playing ferociously well. It is, scarily, his 35th consecutive set at Roland Garros. The record, held by Bjorn Borg, is 41, which he could break in the semi-finals.
Updated
Now Nadal breaks to love, to take a 4-2 lead in the first set against Marterer.
The Schwartzman renaissance has come off the rails, with Anderson breaking his serve in the first game of the fourth set. And Nadal has broken back to level the match against Marterer at 2-2.
While the match on Lenglen was hogging my attention, Max Marterer went and broke Nadal in the first game of their match on Chatrier! He’s 2-0 up in the opening set.
Schwartzman breaks again, and wins the third set! What a twist, in what had been a very predictable plot. Anderson had served one double fault all match until the last few minutes, but then one in each of his last two service games of that set, and an array of unforced errors. The official statistics show that Schwartzman hit four unforced errors in that third set, and Anderson 24.
Updated
But Schwartzman breaks back! It’s 5-5 now and the Argentine, on the verge of defeat, is playing with new-found freedom and fluency.
On Lenglen both players have held serve, meaning Anderson is about to serve for the match at 5-4 in the third.
Britwatch: Jack Draper, a 16-year-old from Sutton, is in action in the first round of the boys’ singles. He’s up against the Spaniard Nicolas Alvarez Varona, and is 3-2 and a break down in the first set.
On Lenglen Kevin Anderson has just broken Diego Schwartzman to go 4-3 up in the third set. He’s already two sets up, and will surely now secure his place in the quarter-finals – where he will play either Nadal or Marterer.
Updated
Next up on Chatrier, then, is Rafael Nadal’s first ever meeting with the German World No70, Max Marterer.
Kasatkina was phenomenal today, and if she has weaknesses Wozniacki couldn’t locate them. It was a microperformance that revealed varied strengths, both technical and mental. She turned 21 last month, and will surely be a regular in the second weeks of Grand Slams for a while to come.
Kasatkina speaks!
I’m really happy. It’s something like a dream come true to play on this court. It was my dream since childhood so I’m really happy to be here. Since the first time I took the racket in my hand I was playing like this. It’s just the way of my mind.
Daria Kasatkina beats Caroline Wozniacki 7-5, 6-3
For the first time in her career, Daria Kasatkina is a Grand Slam quarter-finalist! She came out at 3-3 in the second set, having had the night to think about the possibility of knocking out the No2, and came out not wracked with nerves but inspired by the chance, won three games on the spin and it’s all over!
Updated
Now she does break! Kasatkina earns a second break point, and then a third, and this one she wins, after another brilliantly compelling marathon rally. The No2 serve has to break here, or she’s going out.
On Chatrier, Kasatkina and Wozniacki are having rallies that are almost as long as the Halep-Mertens match. Kasatkina has just missed a break point at 4-3 in the second set, which would have had her serving for the match.
Schwartzman is actually winning in the third set against Anderson – he’s so far held serve twice, and is thus 2-1 up as I type.
Kevin Anderson goes two sets up against Diero Schwartzman on Lenglen, finishing it off with a sliced serve out wide that was pretty much in a different postcode (arondissement?) to Schwartzman when it passed him. Anyway, Anderson has taken the first two sets 6-1, 6-2.
Next up on Chatrier is the second instalment of Daria Kasatkina v Caroline Wozniacki, which Kasatkina currently leads 7-6, 3-3.
Simona Halep beats Elise Mertens 6-2, 6-1
Mertens, facing a first match point, double faults to hand Simona Halep the break, the victory and a place in the quarter-finals! Halep lost her first set of the tournament but since then she’s won eight on the spin, most of them in serene comfort: 6-1, 6-1, 6-3, 6-1, 7-5, 6-0, 6-2, 6-1.
Updated
Martens has just broken Halep to 15, and is thus on the board in the second set. Just a couple of holds and two more breaks from parity, she now trails 1-5.
Hello world!
Well we have a feast of tennis in store for us today (there is rain forecast this afternoon, mind, though nowhere near as much as is expected tomorrow). The first matches on the show courts have started one-sidedly: Simona Halep leads Elise Mertens 6-2, 5-0 and is almost back in the locker room already; Kevin Anderson is 6-1, 2-1 (and a break) up against Diego Schwartzman.
