The home crowd left disappointed when one of the surviving two Frenchmen, Gael Monfils, had his round of sixteen match suspended because of darkness. The ninth seeded Monfils leads sixth seeded David Ferrer with two sets in hand against Ferrer’s one set. Ferrer leads the fourth set 2-0. Both players exerted great energy and were both in form.

Novak Djokovic

Second seeded but generally regarded as the world’s best player at this time, Novak Djokovic took to the courts for the third successive day. When he left, the Serb had achieved his 41st consecutive win in the demolition of France’s Richard Gasquet, 6-4, 6-2, 6-2.

Djokovic showed no signs of letting up on his aggressive charge to the top of the rankings. If he wins in Paris, Djokovic will pass John McEnroe’s record for most consecutive wins to begin a season and replace Rafa Nadal as the top ranked player. Experts feel Djokovic’s march to the top represents a much more difficult achievement than McEnroe because of the depth of today’s competition.

Djokovic will face Italian upstart Fabio Fognini who won the match of the day. The Italian overcame Spain’s Albert Montanes in five tense sets, 4-6, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, 11-9. The final set took 95 minutes in the 4 hour marathon. The crowd was disappointed with the outcome because Fognini was improperly permitted time to recover from cramping in the midst of play.

Fognini won despite striking 103 unforced errors. That is not the level of play that will bode well for the Italian against Djokovic. Amazingly, there were only six total serve and volley approaches in the match.

Third seed Roger Federer sailed past teammate and doubles partner Stan Wawrinka in straight sets, 6-3, 6-2, 7-5. Federer has yet to lose a set at Roland Garros and is quietly working his way to a match with Djokovic. For the Swiss, the win represented the 28th consecutive Grand Slam that he has reached the quarterfinals.

In the quarters, Federer will face the winner of the Ferrer – Monfils match, which will be completed tomorrow. Top seeded Rafa Nadal and 4th seed Andy Murray will be in action tomorrow as they complete their round of 16 matches.

Related Articles

Djokovic Continues Winning Streak at French Open 2011

Djokovic Records Number 40

Novak Djokovic Wins Australian Open 2011 Men’s Title