It was a disappointing morning for the French as Alize Cornet missed out on a chance of upsetting world No3 Victoria Azarenka, and Benoit Paire was dumped out of Roland Garros at the hands of Japan’s Kei Nishikori.
Cornet, the No31 seed from Nice, had never advanced past the third round in Paris, but for a set and a half, looked like she might make the last 16 for the first time of her career.
With Azarenka’s timing on her serve clearly off, Cornet took a hard-fought first set in 54 minutes, breaking the No3 seed four times. Azarenka struck back in the second set and despite getting broken in the first game of the third, the Belarusian broke back immediately and opened up a 5-1 lead.
Serving for the match, Azarenka had to save three break points and finally sealed the victory 4-6, 6-3 6-1 when a poorly-executed drop shot from Cornet landed in the net.
“I couldn’t sustain my level of game that I produced in the first set and a half. And she really picked up her rhythm after the middle of the second. I let her just muscle in, really,” said Cornet after the match.
“She's a machine, a juggernaut, Azarenka. She plays the same from the first to the last point.”
Having produced some strong performances against top players, Cornet may seem ready to launch an assault on the top-10 but the Frenchwoman says there is still something missing.
“I need to find the key to open that door and unlock that potential,” said Cornet, who won the title in Strasbourg last week. “And I felt close in my level of game, close to beating those players in the top-10.
“But I like things to keep moving fast. So I get impatient.”
Meanwhile Azarenka says she was glad she managed to get the win without being on top of her serving game.
“I really felt that I left my serve at home,” said the reigning Australian Open champion. “But if I can win serving like this, that's pretty remarkable, I have to say.”
Paire
Over on Suzanne Lenglen, Nishikori etched his name in the history books when he became the first Japanese man to reach the fourth round at Roland Garros since Fumiteru Nakano in 1938.
The No13 seed secured his last 16 spot with a 6-3, 6-7 (3), 6-4, 6-1 over home favourite Benoit Paire, who hit nine more winners than his opponent but was clearly hurt by the 64 unforced errors he committed, that included nine double faults.
The second set saw lots of drama as Paire, the No24 seed, first received a code violation for racquet abuse and then got a point penalty – on set point – for a coaching violation.
“I think mentally it was difficult for me, because I had a lot of pressure in this match,” said a dejected Paire, who was in tears on court after the match. “I wanted to win.
“I think that the chair umpire wanted to (get) a promotion. Because at 5-4 advantage for me on set points to get a warning for coaching, it's unbelievable.
“I think if Nadal or other top players do the same thing, for sure he doesn't give a warning.
“But I don't know why today he gaveit. It's the first time I've been given a warning for coaching."
Paire said his coach gestured with his hands to push and that it shouldn’t warrant a violation.
He said: “For sure it's not fair because you can see every coach do the same thing.”
Elsehwere, Maria Sharapova survived a second set assault from China's Jie Zheng to advance 6-1, 7-5 to the fourth round where she faces Sloane Stephens, while 2010 champion Francesca Schiavone delivered a 6-2, 6-1 drubbing of Marion Bartoli to book a last 16 meeting with Azarenka.
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