Right, with no play in prospect we’re going to wrap up this live blog. Richard Gasquet, who appeared to aggravate his back injury against Gaël Monfils, will no doubt be relieved about the downpour in Paris, but he’s probably in a minority of one. Still, we shouldn’t complain. Today has been all about top seed Andy Murray, who goes into the second week of Roland Garros with a renewed sense of hope after beating Juan Martín del Potro, the former US Open champion and Olympic silver medallist, for his most significant win this year. Daniel Harris will be here tomorrow to guide you through day eight at Roland Garros. Thanks for reading and enjoy your evening.
The only news at the moment is that there is no news. It’s still raining. We’ll let you know if and when anything changes.
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Simona Halep has also made it to the last 16. The third seed put paid to Daria Kasatkina’s hopes of making week two of a major for the first time with a 6-0, 7-5 victory over the Russian. Halep, who has been making her way gingerly through the draw after suffering an ankle injury in the final of the Italian Open against Elina Svitolina, will next play Carla Suarez Navarro.
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One man through in Murray’s section is Fernando Verdasco, who beat Pablo Cuevas of Uruguay, the 22nd seed, 6-2, 6-1, 6-3. The Spaniard, who you’ll remember put out Rome champion Alexander Zverev, will face the winner of the suspended match between Nishikori and Chung.
Play has been suspended on all the main courts now. After winning the first two sets against Hyeon Chung over on court one, Kei Nishikori has dropped the third and trails 3-0 in the fourth. Testing times for the eighth seed, then, who has only once made the last eight here. John Isner, seeded 21, is up against Russia’s Karen Khachanov on court two, but they’re yet to get started. The winner of that one will play Andy Murray in the last 16.
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First set: Gasquet* 5-6 Monfils (* denotes server), play suspended
As Gasquet comes out to serve, the rain starts to fall harder. Wayne McEwan, the tournament supervisor, takes to the court and play is stopped. For how long, who knows? McEwan was allegedly heard to say that the delay would be no longer than a few minutes. Whatever, it should give Gasquet a chance to regroup and get some attention on his ailing back.
First set: Gasquet 5-6 Monfils* (* denotes server)
Monfils completes a swift hold. Meanwhile, Stan Wawrinka has beaten Fabio Fognini in straight sets, 7-6, 6-0, 6-2. That’s an impressive win by the Swiss. As umbrellas go up around the court, Gasquet looks quizzically at the umpire.
First set: Gasquet* 5-5 Monfils (* denotes server)
There’s a hint of rain in the air, and that could prove a godsend for Gasquet. It’s hard to tell how bad the injury is, though. He’s still looking up at his box and shaking his head. And, weirdly, he looks a bit uncomfortable when bouncing the ball before his serve, although that may just be my imagination. But he doesn’t serve and volley in this game, and he is still moving with reasonable freedom. There is certainly much to admire in the way he saves set point following a brilliant topspin lob by Monfils. He repeats the feat a few points later, denying Monfils with a beautifully-timed forehand, and you get the sense that the longer the rally goes on, the likelier Gasquet is to win the point. Bizarre, given the circumstances. Danger averted, Gasquet sees out the game with an overhead.
First set: Gasquet 4-5 Monfils* (* denotes server)
Monfils canters through his service game and Gasquet will have to serve to stay in the opener. It’ll be such a shame if Gasquet is unable to give of his best here, because these men are two of the best shotmakers in the game.
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First set: Gasquet* 4-4 Monfils (* denotes server)
There’s definitely something up with Gasquet. He’s started coming in behind his serve, which would suggest he’s in a hurry to get the points over. And let’s not forget that he missed Madrid and Rome with a back injury. Even so, Monfils could have done a lot more to exploit the situation. Gasquet holds for 4-4 but, with half an hour gone, you have to wonder how much longer this will go on if Gasquet’s physical condition doesn’t improve.
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First set: Gasquet 3-4 Monfils* (* denotes server)
Monfils holds, and throws in a spectacular slam-dunk for good measure, but the real news here is that Gasquet looks like he may have hurt his back. He certainly stopped moving freely towards the end of that game, and he cast a knowing look at his box. Watch this space.
First set: Gasquet* 3-3 Monfils (* denotes server)
Some good serving from Gasquet sees him through another hold. There’s some serious talent on this court, but little by way of tangible achievement at grand slam level. That might seem a little harsh – these two have five grand slam semi-final appearances between them, after all – but it’s hard to escape the feeling that they both could have done more.
First set: Gasquet 2-3 Monfils* (* denotes server)
It’s Les here again. Many thanks to Ben Fisher for keeping things ticking over. So what’ve we got here then? Nineteen minutes gone, five games played, no breaks as yet. Looks like this one is shaping up nicely.
First set: Gasquet* 2-2 Monfils (* denotes server)
Monfils asserts his power – quite literally – with a couple of unforgiving forehands. He gets a little fortunate with one, which clips the net before just falling in to reach 0-40. Gasquet hits back, wrong-footing Monfils before pulling back to level at deuce. He completes the comeback with a smart ace. Those three break points evaporated rather quickly for Monfils.
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First set: Gasquet 1-2 Monfils* (* denotes server)
Gasquet, spending plenty of time behind the baseline, is forced to discover some wonderful angles, predominantly off his backhand. At deuce, Gasquet hands Monfils the advantage with an overhit forehand. He is then forced into another mistake to give his countryman the lead.
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First set: Gasquet* 1-1 Monfils (* denotes server)
Chatrier is practically full for this one. Both these two were born in France – Monfils in Paris and Gasquet in Béziers – but both allegedly reside live in Switzerland. Gasquet hits a wonderful backhand to go 40-15 up, before patience allows him to prosper as Monfils loops a backhand a little too long.
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First set: Gasquet 0-1 Monfils* (* denotes server)
Monfils makes a typically powerful start. He looks totally in the zone.
Les has just popped out for a bite to eat, so you’ve got me, Ben Fisher, for the time being. We have two countrymen now gearing up to do battle, Richard Gasquet and Gael Monfils.
On court one, Kei Nishikori is two sets to the good against Hyeon Chung of Korea. The eighth seed leads 7-5, 6-4. On Chatrier, meanwhile, the all-French clash between Gael Monfils and Richard Gasquet is about to get under way. Before the hostilities start in earnest, here’s a report on Andy Murray’s win over Juan Martin Del Potro.
Lest we forget, Andy Murray isn’t the only show in town today. Former champion Stan Wawrinka has hit back to win the opening set 7-6 against the dangerous Fabio Fognini. Caroline Wozniacki, seeded 11th this year, has just won 6-3 in the third against the American CiCi Bellis. And earlier, Alizé Cornet swept past former Wimbledon finalist Agnieszka Radwanska to reach week two at Roland Garros for the second time in her career.
“It was tough because he was playing much better than me in the first set,” says Murray. “Both of us hand some chances in the first set, the second set was the same … the 5-4 game he had set point … he served a double fault on set point in the tiebreak … so we both had some chances. Both those two sets could have gone either way. Whoever won that first set had big momentum. It’s slow and heavy and coming back in these conditions is difficult.”
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“I expected a tough match and the first set was very, very important,” says Murray. “I thought I played some good tennis towards the end.” I’ll say.
Murray beats Del Potro 7-6 (10-8), 7-5, 6-0!
Third set: Murray* 7-6, 7-5, 6-0 Del Potro (*denotes server)
If Murray came into this tournament with a major question mark over his form and fitness, a straight-sets victory over an opponent who has posed him such huge problems in recent times should do him a world of good. He played this match with patience, tenacity and tactical intelligence, and it’s yielded a straight sets victory and the first love set he has registered in 10 meetings with Del Potro. The highlight here, as Murray worked his way back from 15-40 down, was a brilliant running forehand, angled cross-court for a winner from a seemingly impossible position. You have to give credit to Del Potro, who hit some quite extraordinary shots and did well to keep his chin up after losing that titanic first set, but this was a richly deserved victory for Murray. He sees it out, appropriately enough, with a lovely forehand winner down the line.
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Third set: Murray 7-6, 7-5, 5-0 Del Potro* (*denotes server)
“Despite a dreadful build up to Roland Garros, Murray is showing he’s not world No 1 for nothing,” writes Simon McMahon. He combines the street-fighting mentality of Connors with the shot making ability of McEnroe. What a player.” Well, the backhand approach and crisp forehand volley that just brought up break point at 30-30 on the Del Potro serve were certainly worthy of Big Mac, Simon. Murray follows up with another intelligent drop shot – he’s used them so well today, just as he did against Clizan – and he’ll now serve for the match.
Third set: Murray* 7-6, 7-5, 4-0 Del Potro (*denotes server)
This is clinical from Murray, even allowing for a brief loss of focus here. He races to a 40-lead on serve and, although he nets a backhand after being pushed wide – and then compounds that error with an ugly forehand that lands half way up the net – a serve-and-volley routine reaps dividends, Del Potro driving an attempted forehand pass long.
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Third set: Murray 7-6, 7-5, 3-0 Del Potro* (*denotes server)
Uh oh. Del Potro survived the threat of a double break in the second set, but is unable to repeat the feat here. Murray uses his forehand to telling effect before turning to his box with a clenched first. You can see why. There is surely no way back for Del Potro now.
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Third set: Murray* 7-6, 7-5, 2-0 Del Potro (*denotes server)
As Murray wraps up a no-frills hold, Fabio Fognini, one of the few men who knows what it feels like to take a set off Rafael Nadal on clay this season, is serving for the opening set against former champion Stan Wawrinka over on Suzanne-Lenglen Court. It’s 5-4 there.
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Third set: Murray 7-6, 7-5, 1-0 Del Potro* (*denotes server)
Oh dear. Del Potro looks spent. As in the previous set, the letdown from losing one set looks to have carried over into the next. He made 17 unforced errors in the second set, and he makes another at 30-40 here, driving the ball long to leave Murray firmly in the driving seat.
Murray wins the second set to move ahead 7-6, 7-5 against Del Potro!
Second set: Murray* 7-6, 7-5 Del Potro (*denotes server)
Kyle Edmund has lost 6-4 in the fifth against Kevin Anderson, but there are no such worries for Andy Murray. Del Potro makes mincemeat of a Murray drop shot that sits up invitingly, but he shanks one forehand and overcooks another. With two hours and 22 minutes gone, Murray hammers down an ace to see out the set. Week two beckons for the top seed.
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Second set: Murray 7-6, 6-5 Del Potro* (*denotes server)
Is there no end to the twists and turns served up by these two players? Intent on making up for that break of serve in the previous game, Murray rediscovers his mojo on the return. He works his way to 15-40 on the Del Potro serve. But the crowd have taken the Argentine to their hearts, especially since that very human display of sympathy for Almagro in the previous round. As he fights to hold on, they begin chanting his name. Duly inspired, Del Potro strikes back with some enormous hitting, only for Murray to recover from deuce and conjure the break with some fine approach play. What a match. Murray to serve for the set again.
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Second set: Murray* 7-6, 5-5 Del Potro (*denotes server)
Well, that was unexpected. With Murray serving for a two-set lead, Del Potro digs deep to produce his best return game for some time. And at deuce, the pressure tells on Murray in the form of a double-fault that has the top seed scowling up at his box. Helped by the support of the vociferous Parisian crowd, Del Potro has really rediscovered his rhythm and fluency off the ground. He fires back a deep return before sending a probing ball deep to the Murray backhand, and the Scot nets. We’re level again.
Second set: Murray 7-6, 5-4 Del Potro* (*denotes server)
In an email that takes me back to the days of Goran Ivanisevic – who, you might recall, once quipped that there were three Gorans: good, bad and emergency – Simon McMahon writes: “So far it’s been ‘Good Andy’. But we all know ‘Bad Andy’ is never far away. That’s what makes watching him so interesting, so involving, so dramatic, so necessary.” It does indeed, Simon. Although Andy could perhaps have done with an emergency version of himself when Del Potro pinged down a gargantuan ace at 30-30 en route to holding.
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Second set: Murray* 7-6, 5-3 Del Potro (*denotes server)
This is a tricky situation for Andy Murray. On the one hand, he has the lead and the momentum. On the other, Del Potro remains as dangerous as the proverbial wounded animal, as he demonstrates with another howitzer of a forehand. Murray knows he can’t relax and, to his credit, he hasn’t. He holds courtesy of some solid serving to move within a game of the set.
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Second set: Murray 7-6, 4-3 Del Potro* (*denotes server)
Perhaps against all reasonable expectation, Del Potro is staying in touch here. He holds to 30, Murray hooking a return wide off a meaty serve. Meanwhile, Kyle Edmund saves three break points to move 3-2 ahead in the fifth set against Kevin Anderson.
Second set: Murray* 7-6, 4-2 Del Potro (*denotes server)
Del Potro had the trainer and the doctor out at the change of ends without receiving any treatment. After missing four set points during the course of that one hour and 27-minute opening set, you suspect the damage is as much psychological as physical. Not that Murray seems overly concerned. He holds to heap further pressure on the former US Open champion.
Second set: Murray 7-6, 3-2 Del Potro* (*denotes server)
Del Potro’s 12th winning forehand of the afternoon is an absolute corker, nailed flat and fast cross-court to reduce Murray to the role of spectator. It brings up 40-0 and, while there’s a momentary lapse from Del Potro when he slaps a shot beyond the baseline on the next point, he recovers to see out the game with an ace at 40-30.
Second set: Murray* 7-6, 3-1 Del Potro (*denotes server)
If the energy has drained from Del Potro, the reverse is true of Murray. There’s a real spring in his step just now, and he’s projecting a confidence that’s expressed in his play. He holds to love to maintain the initiative.
Second set: Murray 7-6, 2-1 Del Potro* (*denotes server)
After three sets in which there was basically nothing in it, the momentum has swung firmly in Kevin Anderson’s favour over on court two. The South African has taken the fourth set 6-1 against Kyle Edmund and they’re on serve in the fifth. Meanwhile, Del Potro recovers from 15-40 to hold before trudging wearily back to his chair. That was crucial for the Argentine.
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Second set: Murray* 7-6, 2-0 Del Potro (*denotes server)
Have we really been playing for more time than it takes to complete a football match? You’d never guess it from the way Murray closes out a love game to consolidate the break. The sprightly Scot races forward to guide a short ball for a winner and De Potro looks thoroughly disconsolate for the moment.
Second set: Murray 7-6, 1-0 Del Potro* (*denotes server)
Del Potro spent much of the change of ends slumped over the net, and I know how he feels. We’ve been going for 90 minutes now and we’re still only a set and a game in. Del Potro looked set fair to win that set – hell, as some of you noticed, I was ready to give it to him at 5-5 – and his response to the disappointment of losing it will go a long way to determining what happens next. Things don’t start well – he’s broken in the opening game and he looks a broken man for the moment.
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Murray wins the first set against Del Potro 7-6 (10-8)!
First set: Murray 7-6 (10-8) Del Potro (*denotes server)
What a tiebreak! A match within a match if ever there was one. A Murray double-fault on the opening point hands Del Potro the early advantage, but Murray gets back on terms a couple of points later when the Argentine sends a backhand long. 2-1 Del Potro. A long rally ensues, with Murray probing the Delpo backhand, drawing his opponent wider and wider, until the space is there to go down the line. Del Potro gets across, but he’s off balance and Murray sees it through for 2-2. That’s the kind of pattern play that Murray will no doubt have worked on in advance of this match. The problem is, knowing what to do is one thing, actually doing it is another. From 4-4, though, Murray moves up a gear, controlling the rallies and keeping Del Potro off balance to bring up two set points. Both go begging, the first thanks to some enterprising play from Del Potro, the second when Murray makes an unforced error. At 7-6, Del Potro has another set point on his serve – only to double-fault. He atones for the mistake with a quite brilliant forehand volley to bring up another chance at 8-7, but Murray comes through a nip-and-tuck exchange for 8-8. A brave winning drop shot behind the second serve brings up another set point for the world No1 at 9-8, and he converts it – although only after the umpire has to come down to check the mark – when Del Potro slams a forehand wide. That was titanic.
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First set: Murray 6-6 Del Potro*(*denotes server)
Del Potro holds and we’re into a tiebreak. They’ve been playing for 66 minutes now. Hope you’ve brought a packed lunch. This could be a long afternoon.
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First set: Murray* 6-5 Del Potro (*denotes server)
As we pass the hour mark, Murray moves ahead for the first time since the opening game. He completes a comfortable hold by drawing Del Potro wide in the ad court before nailing a forehand into the opposite corner. Kyle Edmund is matching him step for step: he’s also just held for 6-5.
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First set: Murray 5-5 Del Potro* (*denotes server)
Ladies and gentlemen, the No1 seed is back in the building. What a game from Murray! He starts with a perfect topspin lob, follows up with a beautifully angled backhand return that leaves Del Potro flummoxed, and then pulls his opponent hither and thither before drawing him forward and flicking a short reply for a winner. But it’s not all plain sailing. With two break points there for the taking at 15-40, and an open court beckoning, Murray fires a simple forehand long. Del Potro duly shows him how it should be done, blasting an inside-out forehand for a winner, and from there an attritional deuce game develops. A set point comes and goes for Del Potro as the game seesaws back and forth. Finally, though, Del Potro double-faults at deuce and Murray breaks after pulling the Argentine wide with a mistimed backhand. There’s nothing between these two right now, and the same goes for Kyle Edmund and Kevin Anderson, who are also locked at 5-5 after splitting the first two sets.
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First set: Murray* 4-5 Del Potro (*denotes server)
Sweeping, majestic, ferocious – call the forehand that Del Potro sweeps beyond Murray at 30-30 what you will. But he’s not infallible. At set point up, the Olympic silver medallist makes a total hash of a forehand return, and Murray rubs salt into the wound thus opened by crushing a forehand winner of his own to regain the initiative. It sets up Murray for a crucial hold; if Del Potro wants this set, he’ll have to serve it out.
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First set: Murray 3-5 Del Potro* (*denotes server)
Both men have found their range from the back now, and it’s making for some gruelling, absorbing exchanges. At 15-15, Murray times a drop shot to perfection to bring one such rally to a juddering halt. He then takes full advantage of a Del Potro second serve, clambering all over his return to leave his opponent flailing. 15-40: two chances to get back on level terms. But Murray seems oddly subdued. He’s hitting the ball well enough, but where’s the fire, the rage, the defiance? Del Potro works his way back into the game with some excellent serving, and on game point he fires down an ace so fast that a huge bang reverberates across the arena.
First set: Murray* 3-4 Del Potro (*denotes server)
At 30-30, Murray hangs tough to win what is arguably the best rally of the match so far, a rhythmical exchange of cross-court backhands that ends with Del Potro driving long. Delpo doesn’t like that too much, and mutters darkly to himself. His mood will not be improved by a mistimed return on the next point. Murray holds. Meanwhile, Anderson and Edmund are on serve at 3-2 in the third set. It’s a set apiece there, remember. Hsieh leads Garcia 6-5 in the decider over on court one.
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First set: Murray 2-4 Del Potro* (*denotes server)
You wouldn’t want to be a linesman out there. The Del Potro forehand is being fired down the court like a cannonball. He slams a winner on the opening point and ups the tempo still further on the next, which he fails to win only when some cumbersome footwork leaves him off balance at the net with the court at his mercy. 15-15. Murray tries to alter the tempo on the next point, but Del Potro is equal to the challenge and holds with something to spare after stepping on the accelerator again. Murray still with it all to do.
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First set: Murray* 2-3 Del Potro (*denotes server)
If Murray loses today, it will be the first time he has failed to make the last 16 at a major in 25 attempts. Will it happen? Well, there’s no question that he’s still feeling his way into this match. He’s failed to discomfit Del Potro on the backhand, and the Argentine’s forehand has been the dominant factor so far. Nonetheless, Murray negotiates a tricky hold after being pegged back to deuce, and that should make him feel a whole lot better.
First set: Murray 1-3 Del Potro* (*denotes server)
Testing times for Great Britain. As Kyle Edmund drops the second set on a tiebreak to Kevin Anderson, Murray makes an impression against the Del Potro serve with a flowing backhand winner on the opening point. But he gets no further than 0-30, Del Potro fighting his way back into the game with some mammoth serving that includes two consecutive aces to seal the hold.
First set: Murray* 1-2 Del Potro (*denotes server)
Last time these two played, it took Murray nine minutes to hold his opening service game and Del Potro didn’t make a single unforced error. With three minutes longer on the clock, we’ve rattled through three games already and the Argentine has the first break. With his forehand exploding off the racket – it sounds like a thunderclap as it echoes around Philippe-Chatrier Court – Del Potro races to a 40-0 lead. Some enterprising play from Murray staves off the first two break points, but a weak attempt at a passing shot goes nowhere and it’s first blood to the lower-ranked man.
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First set: Murray 1-1 Del Potro* (*denotes server)
He’s a man for the long haul, is Del Potro, as his epic Davis Cup win over Murray last September demonstrated. But he’s not the fastest out of the blocks, and at the moment his movement looks a little laboured. He was slow to those drop shots in the opening game and looks cumbersome again here. But his forehand is huge, and he slaps a massive winner en route to a comfortable hold.
First set: Murray* 1-0 Del Potro (*denotes server)
Murray starts solidly, testing Del Potro’s movement with a couple of early drop shots. It was a tactic he employed frequently against Martin Klizan, and it works well again here. We should soon know if the groin problem Del Potro suffered against Almagro has lingered. Murray wraps up the game to 15, drawing the Argentine forward with another short angle.
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Suarez Navarro has beaten Vesnina 6-4, 6-4. She’s now won all four of her meetings against the Russian.
The players are warming up on Philippe-Chatrier Court. Meanwhile, it’s 5-5 between Edmund and Anderson, and it would be no great surprise if the second set went to a tiebreak, just as the first did.
So what can we expect between Murray and Del Potro? A key element for Murray will be steering clear of Del Potro’s huge forehand and redirecting the ball to the Argentine’s more vulnerable backhand side. Del Potro, who was sidelined for what seemed like an eternity with an injury to his left wrist, is still feeling his way back from his injury problems and has favoured the slice since his return to the Tour. That said, he is starting to revert to his favoured two-hander with greater frequency. And it should be noted that the Del Potro slice is far from ineffective, because it offers a nightmarish contrast to his formidable forehand. There’s nothing worse on a tennis court than not knowing whether to expect a speeding bullet or a low, slow, fizzing ball. Nonetheless, expect Del Potro to try to dominate with his booming serve and forehand, while Murray uses his superior movement and variety to keep the Argentine off balance and pepper his opponent’s backhand.
Before we do that, though, I should tell you that it’s going with serve at 4-3 between Anderson and Edmund. We’ll keep an eye on that as we go. Carla Suarez Navarro is serving for the match at a set and 5-3 up against Elena Vesnina, while Garcia and Hwieh are now into a decider.
So then, this Murray chap. Up next, he is. And to mark the moment, we’re going to switch seamlessly into game-by-game mode. OK, we’re going to switch into game-by-game mode.
Cornet beats Radwanska 6-2, 6-1!
She’s battled herself as much as her opponent, but Alizé Cornet has played quite brilliantly today and she’s rewarded with an emotional – and emphatic – victory. One last drop shut lures Radwanska forward, but Cornet outmanoeuvres her in the forecourt for the umpteenth time and that’s the ninth seed out. Cornet looks absolutely ecstatic. Quite right, too. She’s a delight to watch, she’s through to the last 16 for the second time in her career, and next she’ll play either compatriot Caroline Garcia or Su-Wei Hsieh.
This is all looking far too straightforward for Alizé Cornet. The Frenchwoman is keeping a lid on her emotions and leads 5-1. She’s serving for the match. Will she? Won’t she?
Edmund and Anderson exchange holds to make it 1-1 in the second set. Alizé Cornet, meanwhile, so nervous that she’s breathing like Darth Vader, has held for 4-1. Seventh seed Marin Cilic is two sets to the good against Feliciano López, 6-1, 6-3.
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Elizabeth Wyatt has a question about the Murray-Del Potro match. “When is this happening today??” she implores. You’d best ask Alizé Cornet that, Elizabeth. Still battling her inner demons, the unpredictable Frenchwoman has broken to lead 3-1 against Radwanska. Murray and Del Potro will be on once that dispute has been settled. And yes, I’m sure the match will be shown on your channel of choice – it’ll be the centrepiece of this middle Saturday.
Kyle Edmund wins the first 7-6 against Kevin Anderson!
A deep serve from Edmund, a netted return from Anderson, and Kyle takes the first set! That was gritty stuff from the 49th-ranked Edmund.
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Anderson staves off the initial danger to make it 6-6 at the change of ends, but Edmund finds more inspiration, a stinging forehand pass bringing up set point number two …
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Edmund is starting to control the rallies from the back, moving his opponent side to side and drawing errors from Anderson, who is not a natural mover on this surface. Well, who would be at his height? Another well-constructed point by the Brit secures a mini-break for 5-4, but Edmund then makes an error. 5-5. He quickly makes amends, though, conjuring a wonderful forehand winner, struck hard and true down the line, to leave Anderson flat-footed. It brings up set point at 6-5 …
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Wily stuff from Edmund, who gets Anderson on the run with a deep, rolled backhand down the line before slamming a forehand beyond the scrambling South African. 3-3.
Right, let’s focus on the tiebreak between Edmund and Anderson. It’s 3-2 Anderson and on serve …
Edmund has got the bit between his teeth now. He’s just held to 15 to take the opening set into a tiebreak, and he really looks like he means business. Meanwhile, Cornet has missed one break point and now has another courtesy of a Radwanska double-fault. She slaps her thigh. Hard and repeatedly. That’s got to hurt. Mind you, it doesn’t stop her charging down a Radwanska drop shot to guide a winner down the line and break for 1-1.
Anderson holds for 6-5, leaving Edmund with the unenviable task of serving to stay in the set for a second time. Meanwhile, Cornet continues to do the whole textbook enigma thing. She drops her opening service game, brings up a break point on the Radwanska serve with a beautiful rolled forehand, tonks the ball long on break point. Same old, same old.
Caroline Garcia, who is bidding to reach the second week of a slam for the first time in her career, has taken the opener 6-4 against Su-Wei Hsieh. Not one to be outdone, Spain’s Carla Suarez Navarro, the 21st seed, has wrapped up the first set against Elena Vesnina, the 14th-seeded Russian, by the same scoreline.
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Meanwhile, Anderson is taking a medical time-out after holding for 5-4. The big man – I use the term advisedly, he’s 6ft 8in – is having some heavy strapping applied to his left thigh. A delay at this stage is not ideal for Edmund, what with having to serve to stay in the set in the next game, but he’s looking relaxed and focused as he waits in his chair.
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So what of Cornet? Can she break to seal the set? After her chequered performance on her own serve so far, that would surely be her preferred option.When Radwanska double-faults at 30-30, she gets her chance. And she takes it at the first time of asking! Allez, Alizé! (Sorry, I’ve been wanting to write that for the best part of an hour now).
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With half an hour on the clock, it’s still nip and tuck between Anderson and Edmund. Anderson has been the more comfortable of the two so far, but Kyle has just played arguably his best service game of the match to level at 4-4. It’s shaping up nicely on court two.
Cornet has broken back. Of course she has. If she could control her emotions, she’d be a set to the good by now. She’s hitting the ball beautifully, displaying the full range of her extensive repertoire, but her mind has been all over the place. Terrible thing, nerves. Still, she has a point for 5-2 now … and Radwanska has gone long with her return. 5-2 it is!
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Edmund and Anderson are still on serve. It’s 3-3. Kyle’s forehand is coming to the boil nicely, and he needed it when facing another break point in his second service game. It duly came to his rescue, though, Edmund rifling a forehand pass beyond the incoming Anderson.
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Hang on, did I say Cornet was set fair to hold? I did. And I couldn’t have been more wrong. Serving at 40-15, she threw in a double fault and an unforced error. Then Radwanska played one of those points where she adopts the role of cat to her opponent’s mouse, tormenting Cornet with a deep slice and a lovely, angled drop shot. And boy is Cornet tormented. She puts so much pressure on herself, does the Frenchwoman. It’s horrible to watch, because she’s a lovely player. Radwanska breaks and, to rub salt into Cornet’s wounds, she’s warned for coaching in the next game. Tennis is truly a game played in the mind.
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As Cornet steadies the ship – she’s a break up again and set fair to hold for 4-1 – another Frenchwoman, Caroline Garcia, is going well over on court one. The 28th seed leads Su-Wei Hsieh – conqueror of Johanna Konta in the opening round, you’ll remember – 4-2.
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Marin Cilic, the seventh seed and former US Open champion, is racing ahead against Feliciano López over on Suzanne-Lenglen Court. The Croatian leads López 4-1.
Edmund and Anderson are on serve at 2-1 to the South African. Edmund has been living dangerously, mind, fighting his way back from break point down in his opening service game, and that’s an area of his game he’ll need to be careful about. You don’t want to be dropping your own delivery against a man with Anderson’s firepower.
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Cornet, meanwhile, who has always been one to wear her heart on her sleeve, is suddenly coming over all Alizé. Having started immaculately, building on that fine opening game with a clinical break of serve, she’s just been broken. Now she’s looking up at her box, chattering away, gesturing with her arms … whatever happened to the good old days of not showing your opponent how you’re feeling inside?
Kyle Edmund and Kevin Anderson are under way on court two. You may remember Anderson, who has been ranked as high as 10th, as the man who dumped Andy Murray out of the US Open a couple of years back. The South African has started on serve, and it looks like he’s remembered to pack his usual array of powerhouse serves and big forehands. He rattles through the opening game in a couple of minutes. Edmund, who clumps a meaty ball himself, will have his work cut out.
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Cornet, a talented player who has perhaps failed to live up to the big things predicted of her when she first broke through as a teenager more than a decade ago, has seen off Hungary’s Timea Babos and Barbora Strycova , the 20th seed, to reach round three. Not sure how happy she’ll be about the sparsity of the crowd, though. She feeds off crowd support, does Cornet, and said of the backing she received during her first round win: “It was wonderful, it’s always been wonderful. I take great pleasure playing in front of my public.” So far, she’s doing fine without them: she’s started superbly, sealing the opening game with a lovely forehand winner after leaving Radwanska flat-footed with a beautifully crafted drop shot a few moments earlier. Food for thought for the Pole.
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Murray and Del Potro are preceded on to Philippe-Chatrier Court by Agnieszka Radwanska, the ninth seed, and Alizé Cornet of France. Radwanska, a former quarter-finalist, needed almost two and a half hours to subdue Alison Van Uytvanck in the previous round, and it’ll be interesting to see what kind of shape she’s in. The Pole, who missed Rome and Madrid with a foot injury, took an injury timeout after just four games against Van Uytvanck, although she insists that she’s feeling fine now. While the rest of Paris sleeps – judging by the empty seats that appear to be de rigueur for any morning match at Roland Garros – the players are warming up on Chatrier.
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Preamble
It is not hard to see why the third-round contest between Andy Murray and Juan Martín del Potro tops the billing on the middle Saturday at Roland Garros. When these two meet, things happen. Take their most recent match, in the Davis Cup semi-final in Glasgow last September, an epic played out across five fevered sets that spanned more than five hours. Del Potro was the winner that day, but even that monumental struggle was part of a more sprawling narrative. A month earlier in Rio, the pair had contested a similarly dramatic four-hour slugfest in the Olympic final, an exhausted Murray eventually claiming the gold medal in a match that he later identified as one of the toughest he has contested with a big title at stake. Make no mistake, these two players bring out the best in each other.
Nonetheless, today’s contest – which seems to have come around preposterously early in the tournament, even if Del Potro is seeded 29 places below Murray – comes with caveats. For one thing, after a wretched start to his reign as world No1, which has been beset by illness, injury and poor results, Murray remains some way from his best. He has dropped a set in each of his two previous matches, against Russia’s Andrey Kuznetsov and Martin Klizan of Slovakia, and although he is improving with each round, Del Potro will not be slow to punish any passivity on the Scot’s part. Always assuming he’s fully fit, of course. Del Potro arrived in Paris nursing back and shoulder problems, and in the previous round he struggled with a groin injury. So while we could be in for a classic, that is by no means a foregone conclusion.
What is certain, though, is that this is a match between two of the Tour’s good guys. Murray, what with his knighthood, top ranking and willingness to speak out with eloquence and authority on the game’s big issues, has matured into one of the game’s senior statesmen. Del Potro, meanwhile, showed what he is all about with his heart-warming reaction to the injury suffered by the Spaniard Nicolás Almagro in the previous round. Unsurprisingly, therefore, the prelude to the match has been all very gentlemanly. “He is, in my opinion, one of the best players in the world when he’s fit and healthy,” said Murray, looking ahead to what he predicted would be a tough match. “Andy is one of the favourites to win this tournament,” purred Del Potro in reply. “I know his game a lot, but I need to be in good shape and physically be stronger if we play a long match, long rallies.”
It hasn’t always been sweetness and light between the pair, however. When they first crossed swords professionally, on the clay courts of the Foro Italico in 2008, Del Potro body-lined Murray before making an ill-received comment about his mother, Judy, who was seated at courtside. In response, Murray told the Argentine to “watch his mouth”. Relations were strained for a while after that match, which culminated with Del Potro retiring injured, but it’s all water under the bridge now. The warmth with which the two men embraced after their epic encounter in the Olympic final last autumn underlined that. But matches between these two are always close and, while Murray has won six of their nine previous meetings, you suspect he would take particular satisfaction from avenging that Davis Cup defeat in his own backyard.
It’s not all about Murray, either. Another British player looking to make the second week is Kyle Edmund, who faces the big-serving South African Kevin Anderson in the opening match on court two. Former champion Stan Wawrinka is also in action today, as are Agnieszka Radwanska, Simona Halep and Karolina Pliskova. Stand by for what promises to be a fascinating day’s tennis.
Play begins: 10am BST.
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