PARIS (AP)—The fourth-round match between Andy Murray and Viktor Troicki at the French Open was suspended Monday because of darkness after the fourth-seeded Briton evened the score at two sets apiece, 4-6, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2.

The 15th-seeded Troicki was in control during the first two sets but Murray, who injured his right ankle in the previous round, broke in the eighth game of the third set and held his serve to get back in the match.

Troicki dropped serve again when Murray produced a stunning forehand return to lead 3-2 in the fourth. Murray broke again in the seventh game with two consecutive winners and served out the set before the chair umpire said it was too dark to continue.

The pair is expected to finish the match on Court Suzanne Lenglen on Tuesday.

PARIS (AP)—Maria Sharapova won the last four games to beat 12th-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland 7-6 (4), 7-5 on Monday at the French Open and reach her first Grand Slam quarterfinal in two years.

The seventh-seeded Sharapova has won the other three major tournaments once each but is still looking for her first title at Roland Garros.

Against Radwanska, the 2006 French Open junior champion, Sharapova fell behind 4-1 in the first set and 5-3 in the second before turning things around. Sharapova saved five set points in the second.

The Russian was the more aggressive player and finished with far more winners, 47-13, and unforced errors, 44-12.

Sharapova’s quarterfinal opponent will be No. 15 Andrea Petkovic or No. 25 Maria Kirilenko.

PARIS (AP)—Andrea Petkovic of Germany beat Maria Kirilenko of Russia 6-2, 2-6, 6-4 Monday at the French Open to reach her second consecutive Grand Slam quarterfinal.

The 15th-ranked Petkovic stretched her winning streak to nine matches, including a clay-court title at Strasbourg the week before play began at Roland Garros.

Petkovic never had been past the second round at the French Open.

PARIS (AP)—Flat on his back and looking up at the sky, Juan Ignacio Chela could hardly believe it.

The 31-year-old unseeded Argentine had just beaten Alejandro Falla of Colombia 4-6, 6-2, 1-6, 7-6 (5), 6-2 Monday at the French Open, advancing to the quarterfinals at a major tournament for the first time since 2007, when he realized what he had done.

“It’s a surprise for me to be again in quarterfinals,” said Chela, who will next face either Andy Murray of Britain or Viktor Troicki of Serbia. “For me it’s great. I’m very proud to be in the second week.”

Chela is the oldest man left in the draw, and he’s also the only non-European. But the 34th-ranked Argentine is a veteran, having reached the same stage at Roland Garros in 2004.

Against Falla on Court Suzanne Lenglen, Chela dropped his serve early in the fourth set, but he soon broke back. Falla then wasted four break points at 4-4, allowing Chela to force the tiebreaker.

“He broke me right away, and I think that was an advantage that I gave him because I think he was tired,” Falla said. “He was also feeling a little bit down mentally, because I was closer than him to win this match.”

Falla has never won an ATP title but last year at Wimbledon he nearly beat Roger Federer in the first round, failing to serve out the match at 5-4 in the fourth set.

On Monday, he just ran out of steam.

“At the end I was feeling a little bit tired,” said Falla, who had to win three matches to qualify for the main draw. “The rallies were too long.”

Chela was feeling the strain, too, and he showed it after winning match point and dropping to the ground.

“I was lying down,” said Chela, who last played in the quarterfinals at a major at the 2007 U.S. Open. “I didn’t want to stand up. I was watching the sky.”

PARIS (AP)—Fourth-seeded Victoria Azarenka of Belarus matched her best result at a Grand Slam tournament by beating Ekaterina Makarova of Russia 6-2, 6-3 on Monday to reach the French Open quarterfinals.

Azarenka also reached the quarterfinals two years ago in Paris and has made it that far at Wimbledon and the Australian Open, too.

She next plays sixth-seeded Li Na of China.

Azarenka is the highest-seeded player remaining in the women’s draw. It is only the third time in the Open era, which began in 1968, that none of the top three seeded women reached the quarterfinals at a Grand Slam tournament—and the first time at the French Open.

PARIS (AP)—Maybe Li Na’s husband should have left the stadium earlier.

The sixth-seeded Li was trailing 3-0 in the third set Monday at the French Open when Jiang Shan, who is also her former coach, left Court Philippe Chatrier. The Australian Open runner-up then won the final six games to advance to the quarterfinals with a 2-6, 6-1, 6-3 victory over No. 9 Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic.

“I don’t know what happened. Maybe it’s just my husband left and I was able to win six games in a row,” joked Li, who became the first Chinese player to the quarterfinals at Roland Garros.
 
After losing in the Australian Open final to Kim Clijsters, Li lost four consecutive matches at her next tournaments and decided it was time to stop the downfall.

She started working with new coach Michael Mortensen in April before the Madrid Open and their collaboration immediately paid off as she reached the semifinals in the Spanish capital.

Li said she needed a break from her husband both on and off the court after three years of working together.

“Of course I was tired,” she said. “And also after Melbourne I didn’t do well. So I needed to change the team a little bit to improve a lot. That’s why I asked for Michael. He’s from Denmark. I ask him to help me, and now the husband is (my) hitting partner.”

Li tried not to hurt her husband when she told him their collaboration was over and said she didn’t use the word “fired.”

“I would never say that,” she said. “I mean, it’s tough … So I tried to never say, ‘I fire you.”’

Li has now reached the quarterfinals at all four major tournaments and will next play either fourth-seeded Victoria Azarenka or Ekaterina Makarova.

Kvitova broke the sixth-seeded Li twice in the opening set Monday, but the ninth-seeded Czech dropped serve twice in the second set as Li won five games in a row to even the score.

Li lost her serve in the second game of the deciding set when she double-faulted, but Kvitova failed to extend her lead as the Czech player lost the final six games of the match.

“I was really in trouble,” Li said about her difficult start to the third set. “I didn’t believe I could come back, because she has a huge big serve. But I was OK. She had just broken once.”

Kvitova was also looking for a maiden quarterfinal appearance on the Parisian clay.

Although Li doesn’t like to play on clay, she is confident she can reach the same level she had at the Australian Open—or even better—and believes in her chances to go deeper in the draw.

“Why not? I already qualified (for the quarterfinals),” she said. “I won a fourth round match, so what should I say? Did I play bad tennis? I don’t think so.”

Three other Asian women have reached the quarterfinals at Roland Garros in the Open era: Kazuko Sawamatsu and Kimiko Date-Krumm of Japan, and Kazakh player Yaroslava Shvedova.

How much of a hot streak is Novak Djokovic on right now? The fourth round of the French Open isn’t yet complete and he’s already advanced to the semifinals.

Djokovic’s quarterfinal opponent, Fabio Fognini, withdrew from the tournament Monday, one day after his wild and controversial 4-6, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, 11-9 victory over Albert Montanes. The win advanced Djokovic into the French semis before players like Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray had yet to play their fourth-round matches.

He will play next on Friday against either Roger Federer, Gael Monfils or David Ferrer. That will give him four full days off in between matches.

During his match Sunday, the Italian took an illegal cramping break that was heavily criticized by fellow players, saved five match points and closed out the victory playing on one leg.

"I’m not really happy right now," said the 24-year-old. "It’s the best tournament of my career. The doctors say if I play on Tuesday maybe it can be dangerous."

Fognini is getting bashed in the press, most notably by The Tennis Channel’s Mary Carillo, who suggested that Fognini should have either played or retired during his match against Montanes so somebody would have had the chance to play in the French quarters. It’s a delicate issue. You never want to analyze somebody else’s injury but, given these circumstances and Fognini’s reputation for being a sort of tennis weasel, it’s hard not to. Why retire on Monday? You have a chance to beat the hottest player in the world in the quarterfinal of a Grand Slam. Doesn’t Fognini owe it to himself to sleep on it and see how he feels in the morning?

Because it was a walkover, the victory won’t count toward Djokovic’s winning streak, which reached 43 after his fourth-round win over Richard Gasquet. If he were to break the record 46-match winning streak held by Guillermo Vilas, it would have to come after the French Open.

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Busted Racquet previews Monday’s action at the French Open.

- For the first time in the Open era, all three top seeds lost before the quarterfinals at a Grand Slam, opening the door for Maria Sharapova to complete her career Slam at Roland Garros. Her road is no cakewalk though. The Russian plays the hard-hitting Agnieszka Radwanska in Monday’s fourth round.

- Monday’s match of the day was one of Sunday’s best. Frenchman Gael Monfils took two of the first three sets from David Ferrer before darkness fell over Paris, forcing the top-10 seeds to resume their match second on Court Suzanne Lenglen on Monday. A spot in the quarterfinals is on the line.

- Robin Soderling‘s recent dominance in Paris will be tested by a hometown favorite when he faces off against Gilles Simon. Soderling, of course, has played in the last two French Open finals. Last year, he lost to Rafael Nadal, one year after sending Rafa to his first-ever loss at Roland Garros. If both Soderling and Nadal win on Monday, they’ll play in a blockbuster Wednesday quarterfinal.

- Compared to other Monday matches, Li Na vs. Petra Kvitova will fly under the radar. Our bet is that one of the French Open finalists comes out of this match. After her post-Australian Open swoon, the Chinese superstar has played steadier tennis and has been a model of efficiency so far in Paris. Kvitova, our pre-tournament pick to hoist the trophy on Court Philippe Chatrier next Saturday, has been equally so, combining power with an efficient serve and the match-closing ability so many on the women’s tour lack.

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