Murray overcomes Monfils in five set thriller
Andy Murray eventually booked his place in the French Open semi-finals after defeating Gael Monfils in near darkness at Roland Garros. After winning the first two sets reasonably comfortably, Monfils upped his game and fed off the French crowd's support to level the match at two sets apiece. It was getting pretty late into the day now and it seemed that the match would be finished off tomorrow. Incredibly, Murray produced some scintillating tennis to bagel an agitated Monfils in the fifth set to get the job done.
Fourth seed Simona Halep battled past previous champion Svetlana Kuznetsova to seal her place in the French Open semi-finals for the first time in her career. Some heavy ground strokes proved too much for the Russian who was just played off the court. A double break in each set saw Halep through in straight sets.
My Opinion:
Murray put the British fans through the ringer again but managed to somehow battle his was past the very dangerous Monfils. People anticipated a much closer match than we saw in the first two sets as Murray eased to a two set lead. However, the crowd roared a little louder and Monfils fed off the energy. This led to the tide turning in the third set as Monfils gained more and more confidence, hitting bigger and better winners. Incredibly, Monfils raced away with the fourth set to take it into a tense decider. It was getting pretty dark and six games was probably the most they were going to play until the umpire took them off. However, Murray took advantage of Monfils moaning at the conditions and cruised to victory, winning the fifth set 6-0.
He will face a much tougher opponent in the semi-final where he will face Rafael Nadal. The number one seed dropped the opening set to David Ferrer, in what was a replay of last years final. However, Nadal has only ever lost once at Roland Garros and today was not going to be the second time. Normality was restored in the second set and Ferrer could only manage to put a further game on the board throughout the entire third and fourth sets.
Halep going up against Kuznetsova looked like a very close game to call. However, it was Halep who proved to be too good on the day. That must have been disappointing for the Russian, who must have fancied her chances of winning the tournament again this year. However, Halep marches on after another strong performance.
Halep will meet Petkovic in the semi-final after the German managed to cause an upset, defeating Sara Errani in straight sets. Despite her best efforts of repeatedly getting the ball back, it was too much in the end for Errani who just couldn't hit any winners past Petkovic. Instead it was the German who hit the ball harder and more effectively against the tenth seed. There was only going to be one outcome with the way the match played out and that was Petkovic, who very impressively makes her first ever French Open semi-final.
Men’s Singles Quarter-Finals Results
Nadal (1) beat Ferrer (5) 4-6, 6-4, 6-0, 6-1
Murray (7) beat Monfils (23) 6-4, 6-1, 4-6, 1-6, 6-0
Women’s Singles Quarter-Finals Results
Halep (4) beat Kuznetsova (27) 6-2, 6-2
Petkovic (28) beat Errani (10) 6-2, 6-2
Women’s Doubles Quarter-Finals Selected Result
Muguruza/Saurez Navarro beat Peschke/Srebotnik (4) 6-4,
6-4
Mixed Doubles Semi-Finals Results
Groenefeld/Rojer beat Shvedova/Soares (3) 3-6, 7-6,
(10-5)
Georges/Zimonjic (8) beat Babos/Butorac 6-2, 6-2
Boys’ Singles Third Round Selected Results
Zormann (14) beat Khachanov (3)6-7, 6-4, 9-7
Rublev (4) beat Chrysochos 6-1, 6-2
Girls’ Singles Third Round Selected Results
Abanda (10) beat Wallace 7-5, 7-6
Shymanovich (16) beat Bolsova Zadainova (4) 4-6, 6-3, 6-1
Jorovic (1) beat Ferro 6-4, 6-2
Boys’ Doubles Second Round Selected Result
Khachanov/Medvedev (4) beat Bobrov/Uspensky 6-4, 6-3
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