In the men’s section, top-seeded Andy Murray and third-seed Stanislas Wawrinka booked spots while third-seed Simona Halep of Romania and Frenchwoman Caroline Garcia from the women laid claim to berths in the quarter-finals of the French Open.
Murray beat 53rd-ranked Karen Khachanov of Russia 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 on Court Philippe Chatrier while Wawrinka got the better of World No.15 Gael Monfils 7-5, 7-6 (7), 6-2 on Monday.
In the women’s category, Halep defeated 21st-seeded C. Suarez Navarro of Spain 6-1, 6-1 and Garcia defeated fellow compatriot Alize Cornet 6-2, 6-4 in an all-French affair again on Philippe-Chatrier.
“I think today was probably the best I have played overall. Conditions were difficult. It was pretty windy out there. Each [of the four] matches I feel like I played better. I have hit the ball cleaner and started to see the right shots at the right moments. I’ve come a long way the last 10 days or so,” said Murray, who registered his 650th tour-level match win.
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Wawrinka was delighted with his win over home favourite Monfils. “It was a tough match, tough conditions, quite windy and a lot of tension because we know each other so well; it was mentally challenging. I think we were both very tense. So it was important to stay strong with myself, and I'm happy to get through this match,” he said.
“I think he was able to take all the opportunities he had, especially at key moments in the match. I have to say I had many opportunities but whenever he had chances, he was very good. I think he was better than I was in the end,” said Monfils.
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In the only match involving two Indians pitted across the net, seventh seeds Rohan Bopanna and Gabriela Dabrowski of Canada defeated second seeds Sania Mirza and Ivan Dodig of Croatia 6-3, 6-4 to enter the mixed doubles semi-finals.
Notable matches:
Men’s singles:
3-Stan Wawrinka (Switzerland) beat 15-Gael Monfils (France) 7-5 7-6(7) 6-2
7-Marin Cilic (Croatia) beat Kevin Anderson (South Africa) 6-3 3-0 (Anderson retired)
8-Kei Nishikori (Japan) beat Fernando Verdasco (Spain) 0-6 6-4 6-4 6-0
1-Andy Murray (Britain) beat Karen Khachanov (Russia) 6-3 6-4 6-4
Women’s singles:
5-Elina Svitolina (Ukraine) beat Petra Martic (Croatia) 4-6 6-3 7-5
3-Simona Halep (Romania) beat 21-Carla Suarez Navarro (Spain) 6-1 6-1
28-Caroline Garcia (France) beat Alize Cornet (France) 6-2 6-4
2-Karolina Pliskova (Czech Republic) beat Veronica Cepede Royg (Paraguay) 2-6 6-3 6-4
