Murray wins, Rogers shocks Kvitova, Nadal withdraws on Day 6 in Paris

French Open results, highlights: Andy Murray into Round of 16, American Shelby Rogers upsets Petra Kvitova, Simona Halep and Garbine Mugruza win on Day 6.

Author:
Jamie Lisanti
Publish date:
May 27, 2016

A recap of the action on Day 6 on Friday at the French Open in Paris, including results, tweets, hot shots, photos and more.

Results Roundup

• After two rounds, three consecutive days, 10 sets and more than seven hours on court, Andy Murray advanced with a straight-sets win on Friday, defeating No. 27-seed Ivo Karlovic 6-1, 6-4, 7-6. The match lasted less than two hours and there was no drama for the World No. 2, as he never faced a break point and did not let Karlovic’s powerful serve overtake his game. Karlovic hit only 14 aces on the match after hitting a tournament-high 72 aces through the first two rounds.

• World No. 108 Shelby Rogers shocked No. 10-seed Petra Kvitova on Friday, continuing her stellar run at Roland Garros. After beating No. 17 Karolina Pliskova in the first round and No. 49 Elena Vesina in the second round, Rogers surged to the lead over Kvitova with a 6–0 win in just 21 minutes in the opening set. She lost the second set on a tiebreaker, 6–7(3), but went on to win the final set, 6–0.

“Yeah, it's pretty surreal. I'm obviously at a loss of words. It's really exciting,” Rogers said after the match. “I have been feeling really confident. I have had a couple of good wins here already. I was just trying to focus on my game and do the things that have been working for me in my first rounds.”

Petra Kvitova upset by American Shelby Rogers at French Open

Kvitova said she didn’t sleep well the night before and felt the effects during the match.

“I felt like nothing really work today. I think I didn't start well the match and I was feeling very tired and my legs were very heavy,” she said. “I think she was playing very well from the beginning. She was very aggressive from the baseline and I just didn't really have the feeling of the ball and of the small steps on the legs.

“It's one of the worst definitely to lose in the Grand Slam. Of course, I'm very disappointed after today's match.”

Growing up in Charleston, S.C., Rogers played tennis with her older sister, Sabra, who played at Emory University, and eventually Shelby turned pro at 17. Sabra is now a psychologist and Shelby, 23, says her sister is very involved with her tennis career and helps keeps her “sane.”

“She tries to keep me in the moment, not thinking about too many things in the past or too many things in the future,” Rogers said on Friday. “We do a lot of journal exercises, things like that, just to kind of clear your mind a little bit. Because like I said before, if too many thoughts get in it's bad news on the court.”

In the next round, Rogers will play Irina-Camelia Begu, who beat Annika Beck 6-4, 2-6, 6-1.

Nadal shakes up men's draw with injury withdrawal at French Open

• At about 5 p.m. on Friday at Roland Garros, No. 4-seed Rafael Nadal called a press conference and shocked everyone with the news that he was withdrawing from the tournament due a left wrist injury.

Nadal explained that he felt something in his wrist in Madrid in matches against Joao Sousa in Madrid, went to Barcelona to have tests after the tournament and then traveled to Rome after doctors assured him there was no serious injuries. At the Italian Open in Rome he played three matches with anti-inflammatories, but then the pain began to worsen.

“Every day was a little bit worse. We tried to do all the treatments possible. Every single day we spent a lot of hours here working so hard to try to play. Yesterday I played with an injection on the wrist with anesthetic, just to sleep my wrist, to play.

Rafael Nadal pulls out of French Open with wrist injury

I could play, but the thing is yesterday night I start to feel more and more pain, and today in the morning I feel that I could not move much the wrist. So I came here, I did MRI, and I did echography.”

Nadal said that he will not need surgery at this time and said he hopes to be ready for Wimbledon after he undergoes treatment for the next few weeks.

But the real thing is today is one of the toughest press conference in my career, probably,” Nadal said. “You know, having to pull out of probably the tournament that I have—well, it's obvious that the tournament that is more important, more important tournament in my career, and at the same time a tournament that I feel that if I am well I always have my chances.

“I think I am working so hard and I worked so hard to recover the level, and I think I was there. I played the last month and a half at very high level competing against everybody, and I felt myself ready for this tournament….The only thing that I can say is bad luck and that's part of our life.”

• After winning in straight sets in the opening two rounds, fifth-seeded Kei Nishikori needed all five to take down Spanish veteran Fernando Verdasco on Friday, winning 63, 6–4, 3–6, 2–6, 6–4 in three hours and 21 minutes. Nishikori will play Richard Gasquet next, after the ninth-seeded Frenchman knocked out Nick Kyrgios, 6–2, 7–6, 6–2.

Stan Wawrinka continued his title defense on Friday with a 6-4, 6-3, 7-5 defeat of Jeremy Chardy in just under two hours.

• Agnieszka Radwanska advanced to the fourth round at the French Open for the first time since 2013 on Friday, beating Barbora Strycova 6–2, 6–7, 6–2 in two hours and 29 minutes. Check out the insane point between the two players below in our Hot Shots of the Day. It’s a must-see.

Djokovic, Nadal achieve career milestones on French Open Day 5

survived a test from 18-year-old Naomi Osaka, rallying from a set down to win 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 and advance to the fourth round.

Halep broke Osaka at love for a 5-3 lead in the third set and served out the win.

“Well, for sure I think I had opportunities, because I did win the first set. I don't think I really enforced my game on her, and I was making too many unforced errors,” Osaka said after the match. “But, I mean, she has more experience than me, so I feel like I'm not the greatest player ever, so I can't be upset that I lost. So I'm just gonna take this as like a learning lesson, because it's better than how I played in Australian Open third round, anyway.”

Osaka lost to Victoria Azarenka 6–1, 6–1 in the third round in Melbourne in January. Halep will go on to play Sam Stosur after the Australian knocked out last year’s runner-up. No. 21-seed Stosur topped No. 11-seed Lucie Safarova 6-3, 6-7, 7-5 on Friday.

• Garbine Muguruza continued to cruise on Friday, beating Yanina Wickmayer 6-3, 6-0 to book her spot in the Round of 16.

• No. 8-seed Milos Raonic beat Andrej Martin 7-6, 6-2, 6-3 to advance to the fourth round, but not without a bit a trouble from nagging injuries. The Canadian called for a trainer in the third set for a hip issue—the opposite side of the injury he was bothered by in the Australian Open semifinals in January.

Serena extends Roland Garros win streak to nine on Day 5

“At one point it sort of felt like I had trouble bringing my hip back around when I would sprint forward when my left leg was behind me. And then it sort of went the other way. I think the muscles around it to protect sort of seized up,” Raonic said after the match. “The trainer was able to sort of assure me that from what he could tell there was nothing serious there and that I'll have tests done on it now, and take it from there.

“But I feel pretty optimistic about it. It doesn't feel like a pain that's sort of—it feels like just everything got tight around it to protect it rather than anything else.”

Raonic will face Albert Ramos-Vinolas in the fourth round on Sunday after the Spainard outlasted No. 23-seed American Jack Sock, 6-7, 6-4, 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 in four hours and 11 minutes. The win extended Ramos-Vinolas best performance at major and the World No. 55 kissed the clay after the match to celebrate his victory.

• More notable results: Svetlana Kuznetsova d. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6–1, 6–4; Tsvetana Pironkova beat Sloane Stephens 6–2, 6–1; John Isner d. Teymuraz Gabashvili 7–6, 4–6, 2–6, 6–4, 6–2; Victor Troicki d. Gilles Simon 6–4, 6–2, 6–2

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The Day in Photos

FRENCH OPEN DAY 6

French Open 2016 Day 6

Garbine Muguruza

Naomi Osaka

Simona Halep

Lucie Safarova

Sam Stosur

Annika Beck

Irina Camelia Begu

Milos Raonic

Sam Stosur

Shelby Rogers

Petra Kvitova

Nick Kyrgios

Kei Nishikori

Agnieszka Radwanska

Antoine Couvercelle/Tennis Magazine/Panoramic/Icon Sportswire

Nick Kyrgios, Richard Gasquet

Tsvetana Pironkova

Stan Wawrinka

Daily Data Viz

Each day, SI and IBM will bring you data-driven infographics based on the top storylines and stats from Roland Garros. Click the image to view the graphic.

In a matchup of contrasting styles, Ivo Karlovic took on Andy Murray in the third round of the French Open on Friday. See how they match up head-to-head.