Regulation Day

So on Thursday, Li Na wound up on the losing end of the hugest upset on the women's side, falling to Bethanie Mattek-Sands in a three-set match that had its ups, its downs and its runarounds. The Chinese former champ was up 4-0 at one point in the first set when she first faltered and lost the lead. And although she managed to win that set 7-5, Bethanie had all the momentum. The American charged through the second set, winning it 6-3 and then stunned everyone watching - and the other person playing (Li, in a post-match interview would say how "surprised" she was by the way Mattek-Sands was hitting) - by winning the decider 6-2. We're not sure if the "bullring", as Court 1 at Stade Roland Garros is called, has mystical upset powers or merely favors the more outrageously clad, but there's one thing for certain: it was Bethanie's lucky court on Thursday. Paula Ormaechea, her third round opponent, had better hope this is as far as Mattek-Sands can go.

Known for her wacky outfits and knee-high socks, Bethanie Mattek-Sands outplayed Li Na on Thursday

That, I'm afraid, was the only notable upset that has occurred since Thursday at the French Open. It has been mostly regulation on all courts, men's and women's singles alike.


The Lads

Gael Monfils's mesmerizing run has finally come to an end as he surrendered to the Spaniard Tommy Robredo in a tough five-setter that had even the French crowd celebrating with Robredo. It seemed like Monfils ran out of gas early in the third set and turned his two sets to one lead into a nightmare of epic proportions. In the fourth set, he even had a match point at 5-4, 40-30 on his own serve when Robredo produced an unreturnable inside-out forehand that ended the long rally and more than likely pounded the last bit of verve out of Monfils. Before long, Robredo would break for 5-even and win the ensuing tiebreak to force a fifth and deciding set. Disappointment leading to poor strategy and shot selection, Monfils quickly fell to a 2-5 deficit and, unable to retrieve a delicate dropshot from Robredo at triple match point, he had ended his French Open campaign just like that. Robredo dropped to the dirt in celebration, laughing in near disbelief at his victory. But will he still be laughing when he next steps onto court with compatriot Nicolas Almagro on the other side of the net? Maybe, maybe not.

Tsonga, Ferrer, Troicki and the impeccable Roger Federer all made it through their third round matches in straight sets.

Kevin Anderson got the best of Milos Raonic but a bit of inconsistency is expected from the newly-turned-pro Canadian.

Just three spots in the rankings separating them, Gilles Simon (ranked 15th in the world) would battle past US native Sam Querrey in five sets, 2-6, 6-3, 2-6, 7-6, 6-2. The number of Americans left in the draw is diminishing quickly, even as Tommy Haas is set to play John Isner tomorrow for a fourth round spot; whereas the number of Spaniards left, and indeed the likelihood of one particular Mallorcan making it at least to the semis, seems steady as a rock.

Do any more surprises lie in store? Or are we headed for the almost inevitable Nadal-Djokovic showdown? And will the triumphant man of that semifinal have enough left in the fuel tank to take on Roger Federer, the lower half favorite? One can only hope.

Nadal (L) leads the rivalry against Djokovic (R) on clay 12-3....for now.

The Lasses

Now, call me crazy but I really did expect a tighter match between Sara Errani and Sabine Lisicki. We all knew the 5'5" Errani was the overwhelming favorite to win it but Sabine could have come up with something more convincing than a mere 0-6, 4-6 pushover. Is this not the same Sabine who beat Maria Sharapova in the fourth round at Wimbledon last year? The same Sabine who refused to be pushed around by a hard-hitting Nastassja Burnett at Stuttgart just earlier this year? The technically sound Errani was just too good, I suppose. Now Errani, one of only three Italian ladies left in the draw, must face Carla Suarez-Navarro and continue to show that what she lacks in height, she makes up for in heart.

The only two three-set matches amongst the women today were those of Angelique Kerber (d. Varvara Lepchenko 6-4, 6-7, 6-4) and Roberta Vinci (d. Petra Cetkovska 6-1, 2-6, 6-2). Everyone else, from Serena to Agnieszka made it through in straights. Stiff competition amidst the women....we like that, don't we?

Soon, we'll be down to the final 16 and we'll see who really won't go away without a fight and a half.

Sabine Lisicki at Stuttgart in 2013

Breathe tennis!!