PARIS — For the 13th consecutive year, no American man is in the quarterfinals of the French Open.
World No. 2 Andy Murray made sure of that, the two-time major champion besting big-serving John Isner 7-6(9), 6-4, 6-3 on a rain-soaked Sunday at Roland Garros.
Murray heads into the quarterfinals for a sixth time, joining defending champion Stan Wawrinka, who won earlier on Sunday. Murray will meet home hope Richard Gasquet, who upset No. 5 seed Kei Nishikori on Sunday.
“It was obviously difficult conditions with the rain,” Murray said on court after the win. “It was good to have the (one-set) lead going into the rain delay.”
Isner has reached just one Grand Slam quarterfinal in his career – the 2011 U.S. Open – and loses in the fourth round for a third consecutive major.
Andre Agassi was the last U.S. man to play into the final eight in Paris in 2003.
"This is a get-back-to-work" moment, said Isner, who had a set point in the first set. "It's disappointing. I would have liked to have had that forehand back at 6-5 in the tiebreaker. But I do think I did turn a corner on my season this week, considering how I was down and out in my first-round match. So I'm leaving this tournament with positive feelings going forward in my year here in 2016."
Roger(s) that: Earlier in the day on Court Suzanne Lenglen, American Shelby Rogers brightened the day for the stars and stripes on the red clay, the 23-year-old continuing a Cinderella run here with a 6-3, 6-4 win over seed Irina-Camelia Begu. Rogers, ranked No. 108 in the world, was the second-to-last player accepted into the draw. She’ll meet No. 4 seed Garbiñe Muguruza.
Double down: Venus and Serena Williams won a held-over doubles match to start the day, but then were beaten in round three by Kiki Bertens and Johanna Larsson. Both Williams sisters play singles on Monday. Top seeds Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza also went down, shocked by Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova 6-3, 6-2. Hingis/Mirza had won at Wimbledon, the U.S. Open and Australian Open coming into this event, hoping to win a fourth consecutive major.
Dream run, continued: Albert Ramos-Vinalos, the world No. 58, continued his own dream run, beating Milos Raonic, 6-2, 6-4, 6-4. The 28-year-old Spaniard had won just four matches in his career at the majors leading into this tournament. He’s equaled that mark this fortnight, and will play Wawrinka for a spot in the last four.
Sun goes MIA: It was a dark and gloomy day in Paris once again, with the forecast not getting much better. Rain is expected in six out of the next seven days in an already rain-rocked event.
Come back tomorrow: The rain on Sunday pushed two marquee matches into Monday, as No. 2 seed Agnieszka Radwanska led Tsvetana Pironkova 6-2, 3-0 and Simona Halep, the 2014 finalist here, was up a break on 2010 runner up Sam Stosur, 5-3, when another spell of rain sent matches off court around 8:30 p.m. local time. The winners of these to-be-continued matches Monday will meet in the quarterfinals.
On the comeback: Former world No. 1 doubles team Bob and Mike Bryan continued their return to form Sunday, saving a match point to beat Radek Stepanek and Nenad Zimonjic. The brothers, seeded No. 5 here, won 4-6, 7-6(6), 6-3 to move into the quarterfinals. They avenged a devastating loss to Zimonjic in Indian Wells, in which the brothers squandered eight match points in March.
Striking it rich: Rogers, 23, had earned $799,773 in career prize money before the French Open. Her quarterfinal run guarantees her at least a payout of €294,000 ($326,795 USD). What’s her plan? “Maybe I will do a little shopping before I leave,” she said, smiling. “I have always been very careful with my money … I like to have it, and I don't like to spend it too much.”
Mac back at it: John McEnroe was in the player box for Raonic during his loss Sunday, the nine-time major champion brought on as a coaching adviser by Raonic’s team as the grass court season approaches. “I was looking for another set of eyes to be a bit more efficient on grass,” Raonic told reporters. “It's about generally improving. I want to improve coming forward and I want to improve putting more pressure on my opponents.”
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