Month of June , 2009

Belarussian teenager Victoria Azarenka sunk Ana Ivanovic's hopes of defending her French Open crown with a comprehensive 6-2, 6-3 win in the fourth round on Sunday.

It is the first time the 19-year-old has reached the last eight at a Grand Slam event and she will play Russian top seed Dinara Safina for a place in the semi-finals.

The 21-year-old Ivanovic, meanwhile, was left pondering what she has to do to re-discover the form that brought her the title and world No.1 spot a year ago.

World number one Dinara Safina fired an ominous warning to her rivals after she flattened France's Aravane Rezai 6-1 6-0 to reach the French Open quarterfinals on Sunday.

The Russian, who has dropped only five games en route to the last eight, said she could still play better.

"Honestly, I still feel I can do much better. I think that if somebody would push me more I still can get much more out of myself," Safina told reporters.

V. AZARENKA/A. Ivanovic

6?2, 6?3

An interview with:

VICTORIAAZARENKA

THE MODERATOR: Questions in English, please.

Q. What was the key today? Onlyseven unforced errors, 80% first serves for you.

VICTORIA AZARENKA: I didn't really see the statistics yet, but Iwas very consistent today and very aggressive. I didn't let her play her game, which she normally does. I was just being I think too aggressive.

Q. Was is it your best day in the tournament?

VICTORIA AZARENKA: So far, yes.

D. SAFINA/A. Rezai

6?1, 6?0

Aninterview with:

DINARASAFINA

THE MODERATOR: Questions inEnglish, please.

Q. You lost five games in four matches. What does it mean?

DINARA SAFINA: Well, you know, it feels good getting intothe quarterfinals like this. Because Iremember Australia,and I don't know how many hours I spent there before I go to the quarters. I'm feeling very good right now.

V. AZARENKA/A. Ivanovic

6?2, 6?3

An interview with:

ANAIVANOVIC

THE MODERATOR: Questions in English, please.

Q. How did you feel on the court today? It was difficult?

ANA IVANOVIC: No, I started really well, and I felt reallygood in the beginning. Then after thethird game, actually after first point in the fourth game, I just suddenlystarted feeling so dizzy, and I completely lost my balance.

World No. 25 Robin Soderling sent shockwaves through the tennis world on Sunday afternoon at Roland Garros as he put on a superb display to record the biggest victory of his career by sending four-time defending champion Rafael Nadal crashing out 6-2, 6-7(2), 6-4, 7-6(2) in the fourth round.

A packed Philippe Chatrier court watched on in disbelief as the Swede handed World No. 1 and reigning ATP World Tour champion Nadal his first defeat in 32 matches (31-1 record) at Roland Garros and his first-ever loss in a best-of-five-set clay-court match (48-1).

All the reaction from the big names on the eighth day of the French Open at Roland Garros.

 A seismic shock rippled through Roland Garros at 17.54 pm on Sunday when the unthinkable finally happened—claycourt king Rafael Nadal’s aura of invincibility was pierced, punctured and finally ripped apart.

Robin Soderling was barely known outside tennis circles but the disarming Swede played the match of his life to humble arguably the greatest ever claycourter 6-2 6-7 6-4 7-6 in the fourth round of the French Open after 3-1/2 hours of high drama.

World number three Andy Murray booked his place in the quarter-finals of the French Open with the minimum of fuss, beating 13th seed Marin Cilic 7-5 7-6(4) 6-1.

 After sending shockwaves through the tennis world by handing Rafael Nadal his first defeat at the French Open, Robin Soderling was expecting a message of thanks from fellow Swede Bjorn Borg on Sunday.

Soderling ended Nadal's dream of becoming the first player to win five consecutive titles at Roland Garros by beating the Spaniard 6-2 6-7 6-4 7-6.

The defeat ensured the 22-year-old Spaniard would have to be content with sharing the record of winning four Paris titles in a row with Borg -- at least for now.

RAFAELNADAL

THE MODERATOR: Questions in English, please.

Q. It was a great four?year winning period. All things had to end, and it happened today, your series of wins. Did you expect such power tennis fromSoderling before the game? Were yousurprised during the match of the way he hit his ball consistently so hard,especially on the forehand, but also in general?

The first four quarterfinal spots at the French Open were snapped up on Sunday, with Dinara Safina and Maria Sharapova - a current and former world No.1 - among the fourth round winners.

Four of the eight players left in the bottom half of the draw were not seeded to make the round of 16, but that just means they're in sizzling form. The same four are gunning to make the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam for the first time. Serena Williams, Svetlana Kuznetsova and Jelena Jankovic, watch out.

ROBINSODERLING

THE MODERATOR: Questions in English, please.

Q. When did you really feel that you could win this match? Already in the first set or in thethird? And also, Nadal just said herethat he made it easier for you. Do youthink you agree or think it's the opposite, you maybe make things difficult forhim?

Day 9: Monday, 1 June 2009
Court Philippe Chatrier 11:00
1. Women's Singles - 4th Rnd.
Aleksandra Wozniak (CAN)[24] v. Serena Williams (USA)[2]
2. Men's Singles - 4th Rnd.
Tommy Haas (GER) v. Roger Federer (SUI)[2]
3. Men's Singles - 4th Rnd.
Juan Martin Del Potro (ARG)[5] v. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA)[9]
4. Women's Singles - 4th Rnd.
Virginie Razzano (FRA) v. Samantha Stosur (AUS)[30]

 Roger Federer will wake up for Monday's fourth-round match against Tommy Haas still getting used to the idea that he is now the favourite to win a maiden French Open title after Rafael Nadal's shock exit.

The shape of the draw has changed dramatically with Nadal and Novak Djokovic out of the picture, presenting the Swiss with his best chance to finally pick up the only grand slam title to have eluded him.

(5) Jelena Jankovic (SRB) vs. Sorana Cirstea (ROU)

Jankovic has yet to drop a set in any of her three matches, and has moved through the draw quietly. Many people forget that she is a two-time semifinalist here and has had solid results on clay in the past. Don’t discount Jankovic’s chances of winning this title because she is more than capable of beating anyone.

I have never been a big fan of Maria Sharapova’s tennis. I prefer fellow Russian Dinara Safina, who I like to nickname ‘Marata’ (her brother being Marat Safin).

Many men will prefer Sharapova for reasons other than tennis but Safina can be more enjoyable to watch on court, especially when it’s clay.

But I have to say I have become fond of Sharapova since Roland Garros started last weekend.

American second seed Serena Williams blazed into the French Open quarter-finals after overwhelming Canadian 24th seed Aleksandra Wozniak 6-1, 6-2 in a one-sided 53-minute match here on Monday.

Williams, the 2002 champion, will meet Russian seventh seed Svetlana Kuznetsova, who put out Polish number 12 seed Agnieszka Radwanska 6-4, 1-6, 6-1 for a place in the last four.

"When you want to win really badly and it's your first time on Court Philippe Chatrier, emotions get involved," said a shell-shocked Wozniak.

Russia's Svetlana Kuznetsova, the 7th seed, beat 20-year-old Pole Agnieszka Radwanska 6-4, 1-6, 6-1 in a topsy-turvy match here on Monday to secure a place in the French Open quarter-finals.

Kuznetsova, the 2006 French Open runner-up and a top-ten player since June of that year, will meet American second seed Serena Williams in the last eight.

The 23-year-old Russian, US Open champion in 2004, broke first when Radwanska netted a forehand in the fifth game but allowed the Pole to break back in game seven when she followed up a double fault with a netted backhand.