Murray outmuscled by Gonzalez

Andy Murray's impressive run at the French Open came to an end today as he was beaten in four sets by Fernando Gonzalez.

Murray, the third seed, could not sustain the excellent form he had been showing at this year's Roland Garros as the mercurial Chilean powered to a 6-3 3-6 6-0 6-4 victory on Philippe Chatrier court.

The British number one was looking to repeat Tim Henman's 2004 exploits and make the semi-finals here for the first time.

But the enigmatic Gonzalez had one of his better days, recovering from a dip in the second set to overpower a sometimes ragged Murray through sheer brute force on a sun-kissed Philippe Chatrier court.

It was still Murray's joint second-best display at a grand slam, rounding off a strong clay-court campaign that proved he can perform on his least favourite surface.

Murray knows all about Gonzalez's booming forehand - he has been a practice partner for the Chilean this tournament - and he was soon chasing after it, saving four break points in his first service game.

Gonzalez, the boys' singles champion here in 1998, saved one himself in game five and it went with serve until the eighth.

One of Gonzalez's many inside-out, cross-court forehand winners set up the break and when Murray went short with an approach shot, the 28-year-old sent over a whipped forehand that the Briton could not return.

Gonzalez needed four attempts to take the set, which he did with a whipped forehand, one of 16 winners in the opener.

Murray would have been praying Gonzalez could not keep up that intensity and that level.

He managed to early on, however, unleashing some mighty forehands in game four of the second set after sending Murray wide with his serve.

But Murray broke in the sixth game, needing four bites at the cherry after going 40-0 up, and served out the set.

He did not make a single unforced error in the second set and his consistency was beginning to stifle the big-hitting Chilean, whose error count was creeping up.

That was the first set Gonzalez had dropped in the tournament and he responded superbly.

Murray won just seven points in the third set, which was easily his worst of the last 10 days.

He shanked a forehand wide to lose his serve and go 2-0 down, made three unforced errors in game four to go 4-0 down and then sent a dreadful smash into the bottom of the net to hand Gonzalez the set on a plate.

It had been a horror set for the Scot and he was always on the back foot in what proved to be the final set.

He recovered from 15-30 deficits in games four and six to stay level, but was broken in the eighth when Gonzalez unleashed a huge forehand, his 45th winner of the match.

Gonzalez was broken himself when serving for the set at 5-3 but Murray could not back that up, ending the championship by being broken to love.

Murray Gonzalez forehand too strong

Andy Murray admitted he was left helpless by Fernando Gonzalez's booming forehand during his loss to the Chilean.

Murray was bidding to become only the second British man in the Open era, after Tim Henman, to reach the last four at Roland Garros but he ran out of steam, 12th seed Gonzalez powering his way to a 6-3 3-6 6-0 6-4 win today.

The naturally-attacking Gonzalez can blow hot and cold but today was one of his better days. He hit 45 winners to steamroller the third seed on a sun-kissed Philippe Chatrier court.

Murray held his hands up, acknowledging the man who he claims has the biggest forehand in tennis deserved the victory.

"No-one's hit the ball that big. If that happens, sometimes you've got to say, 'too good'," the Scot said.

"If you look at some of the shots he's hit, he's hitting forehands from a metre wide of the tramlines on some points - and hitting winners off them.

"Even if you try to hit a ball to his backhand, he runs around and spanks a winner. You can't do a whole lot about that."

Gonzalez, a boys' singles winner here in 1998, admitted everything went right today.

"I was playing at a really high level. I took every chance that he gave me," the 28-year-old said.

"I managed to win the third set very easily and that gave me a lot of confidence for the rest of the match.

"On the attack, I always try to hit and have no fear. I just go for it. I have great pleasure hitting the ball hard.

"Some days I can miss but I know that if I have to win a big match, I have to perform on that (forehand) side."

If Gonzalez - a winner of eight clay-court tournaments so far in his career - continues to find his range with his forehand, he will be difficult to beat.

But then so will 23rd seed Robin Soderling, the Chilean's opponent in the semi-finals.

The Swede, who dumped out top seed and reigning champion Rafael Nadal in the fourth round, continued his amazing Roland Garros journey by sweeping aside previously in-form 10th seed Nikolay Davydenko.

Soderling won 6-1 6-3 6-1 in an hour and 41 minutes on Suzanne Lenglen court.

"I have to say it was a little tougher than the score suggests," said the 24-year-old, who has also beaten 14th seed David Ferrer this tournament.

"I always knew I could play really, really good tennis when I'm on top of my game. I just needed to tell myself not to lose concentration."

Soderling also revealed he had received a congratulatory text off compatriot Bjorn Borg after his win over Nadal, who last year equalled the legendary Swede's record of four straight Roland Garros titles.

"He said, 'Congratulations, and thank you for not letting Nadal break my record'. I think he will be down here tomorrow," Soderling added.

"It was very big for me to receive a text from him. The funny thing is, I also got a lot of texts from people I don't even know!"

It was a disappointing way for Davydenko to celebrate his 28th birthday.

The Russian, formidable against eighth seed Fernando Verdasco in round four, was understandably unhappy to have picked up only five games in three sets against an opponent he would have been expected to overcome at the start of the tournament.

"I didn't have my best game and that's surprising," he said.

"Maybe his tennis is too fast for me. He had very good control from the baseline."

Davydenko denied he had got ahead of himself and contemplated a place in the final.

"I was not thinking about the semi-final or final," he said. "Okay, it was not Nadal or (Novak) Djokovic I was playing, but Soderling played well."

Murray wary of Gonzalez forehand

A forehand considered the biggest in tennis stands between Andy Murray and a place in the French Open semi-finals.

Fernando Gonzalez, Murray's opponent tomorrow in the last eight, has this tournament shrugged off his mercurial image and is playing at a consistently high level.

And then he has his killer weapon, his forehand, which is really firing and was the main source of his 50 winners in his fourth-round rout of 30th seed Victor Hanescu in straight sets.

Murray knows all about the Chilean 12th seed - he practised with him last week - and the British number one realises he could be left with egg on his face if he leaves Gonzalez easy, mid-court ball.

"Playing against him in practice is not necessarily the same as playing against him in matches," said the Scot, who has a 1-1 record against the South American.

"He's very unpredictable which makes it tough to play against him.

"I have to play a very consistent match and keep the ball deep. You don't want to leave the ball in the middle of the court against him. He's got a huge forehand."

Gonzalez has a number of nicknames, one of which is 'Mano de Piedra'.

"He was a boxer from Panama," the 28-year-old explained.

"When he hit with his right, it was usually a knockout."

The beleaguered Hanescu can testify to that.

"It's very fast, very high. You don't have time (to react to it) - maybe Nadal could," said the Romanian.

"If he's hitting it very hard, it's tough to stay in the game."

Murray will of course be wary of that forehand of Gonzalez, who has yet to drop a set at this year's Roland Garros.

But there is mutual respect between the two players, considering the Briton's excellent form on the Parisian clay this past week.

"Murray is number three in the world and he deserves it," said Gonzalez.

Click here to view pictures of Day 9 in the French Open.

Murray has found his feet on the dirt and yesterday became the third British man, after Roger Taylor and Tim Henman, to make the quarter-finals here in the Open era.

He was far too consistent for Croatia's Marin Cilic, the 13th seed, who made mistakes on both wings deep in rallies that Murray fed off. Indeed Murray made just 14 unforced errors all match.

The tenacious 22-year-old's battling qualities are proving to be invaluable in his march into the business end of the tournament.

"It's tough to get really easy points from him. You always need to work to win a point," said Cilic.

"He's playing consistently in the big tournaments so that makes him stronger in key situations."

Gonzalez beat Murray in Basel in 2005 but in their second and most recent meeting - in the third round of the US Open in 2006 - the Scot turned the tables as he came back from two sets to one down.

Eight of Gonzalez's 11 career titles have come on clay, the latest coming earlier this year in Vina del Mar. He won the boys' singles at the French Open in 1998 too, so he has pedigree on the terre battue.

"It will be very tough," said Murray.

"He loves playing on clay. He's won all of his matches very easily so far."

Murray no match for fiery Gonzalez

Fernando Gonzalez blasted his way into the semi-finals of the French Open with a comprehensive win over No3 seed Andy Murray on Tuesday. The Chilean used his clay-court attacking skills honed over ten years on the circuit to power his way to a 6-3 3-6 6-0 6-4 win in two hours 15 minutes. The match-up was always going to be an intriguing one. Murray may be the newly minted world No3 and poster boy of British tennis but his record on clay reflected his lack of savvy on this, the slowest of surfaces. Murray had only played 37 of his 260 career matches on red brick, winning just over half of them, while Gonzalez had disputed no fewer than 212 matches on clay with a winning percentage over 70 percent – clear proof both of greater experience and of a genuine understanding of what it takes to win on dirt. Gonzalez also came into the tie having not lost a set at Roland Garros this year, spending barely more than six hours on court in dispatching his four opponents. If Murray was to make the semi-finals of a Grand Slam for the second time in his career, he was going to have to be at the top of his game. For the first half an hour, the Scotsman held his own, serving as wide as he could and camping well behind the baseline in an attempt to negate the Chilean’s all-out attacking brand of tennis. At 3-4 on Murray’s serve however, Gonzalez took almost every backhand as an inside-out forehand – a high-risk strategy but one which worked as he carved out a break point. He then changed his tack, luring Murray into a sliced backhand rally before passing him as he came into the net in two minds. Murray saved three set points as the Chilean had a brief attack of nerves but the No12 seed soon pocketed the opener 6-3. The second set followed the same pattern as the first, but this time it was 28-year-old Gonzalez seed who blinked first, handing Murray three break points in the sixth game and, after saving them with some big serves, fluffing two forehands to surrender the crucial break. One set all therefore – had Murray weathered the storm? Would Gonzalez be forced to play more cagily? Not a bit of it. The third set saw Murray blown off court 6-0 as Gonzalez hit a raft of forehand winners – 24 of them from the baseline alone throughout the match – and then deciding to dust off his slice, drop and cross-court play as he took the set on a wave of confidence. Murray had no answer to this combination of power and variation, his tennis looking terribly one-dimensional in comparison. The Chilean broke in the fourth to lead 5-3 but there was to be one last throw of the dice for Murray, with Gonzalez again having an attack of nerves. Murray hauled himself back into contention at 4-5, but a fifth set would have been more than he deserved. The Chilean promptly broke to love, fittingly on the back of yet more pin-point inside-out forehands, and will face Robin Soderling in a semi-final that promises to be a match full of fireworks between two massive hitters. “I've got to give a lot of credit to him,” said Murray straight after the match. “I’d played against him before and he hits the ball hard, but today he was hitting it huge. If that happens, sometimes you've got to say ‘Too good’. It's quite easy sitting on the side to look and think ‘you could’ve have done this, you could have done that’ but the guy is hitting ball so hard – no-one's hits the ball that big.” “At the start of the third set I had a few chances to hold serve and didn't take them, and then at the end of the match I played a poor, poor game and when I broke back, which is not like me,” rued the Scotsman. “I got myself back into the match there and played four bad points. It was a good week, a good couple of weeks though.” It was indeed a good week or so for Murray, and now the green grass of home at Wimbledon awaits, and more importantly for him, the subsequent hard court season where he first shot to real prominence last year. He can take heart from the fact that he has increased his cushion over fourth placed Novak Djokovic in the rankings and taken further steps to becoming a better clay court player. He still has some way to go however if he is to challenge seriously for the Roland Garros title in the future.

Impressive Murray moves into quarters

Andy Murray put in his best performance of the tournament so far to see off the dangerous Marin Cilic 7-5 7-6(4) 6-1. The British No3 seed showed great maturity in weathering the storm when Cilic found purple patches in the first and second sets, before the Croatian No13 seed crumbled in the third, sending Murray through to the quarter-finals to face another big hitter, twelfth seed Fernando Gonzalez. Murray is hardly a veteran on the circuit at the age of 22, and only two years older than his opponent, but the Scot’s experience certainly told today. The Dunblane native refused to be rattled when Cilic began pounding the sidelines, particularly in the second set. He chased down every ball he could, and relied on his serve to get himself out of trouble. And it was Cilic who cracked, at 5-5 in the opener and particularly in the second set tie-break when a series of errors handed Murray a two-set lead. The world No3 can take a whole lot of positives from his solid display on Suzanne Lenglen. His movement was excellent, his serve effective and his all-round hitting clean. Murray’s self-belief was also self-evident, on the surface that least suits his game. A look at the stats (10 aces and only 14 unforced errors) will also please both the player and his entourage. Cilic will be back, at the deep end of Grand Slams, in the near future. When he finds his range, he is very hard to stop, but today he made the wrong shot choices at the wrong time and lost focus at crucial times.

Roddick cruises past Gicquel

Sixth seed Andy Roddick broke new ground at the French Open with his comfortable third-round win over Frenchman Marc Gicquel today.

Sixth seed Andy Roddick broke new ground at the French Open with his comfortable third-round win over Frenchman Marc Gicquel today.

The American posted a 6-1 6-4 6-4 victory on Suzanne Lenglen Court to clinch a spot in the last 16 at Roland Garros for the first time in his career.

Roddick has gone out in the first round in his last two appearances in Paris, in 2006 and 2007, but this year he is disproving the theory he cannot play on clay - he has not dropped a set this week.

He will play either Gael Monfils or Jurgen Melzer next.

Elsewhere, Germany's Tommy Haas set up a potential fourth-round date with second seed Roger Federer with a 7-5 6-3 4-6 6-4 victory over Frenchman Jeremy Chardy on Court One.

Federer plays Paul-Henri Mathieu later today on Philippe Chatrier court.

With Gicquel and Chardy out, France's representation in the men's draw has been whittled down to three - Mathieu, Monfils and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

Ball boys and ball girls relax in the sunshine

The official opening of Roland Garros in the city

Rafael Nadal - Robin Soderling

© FFT

Aussie Aussie Aussie! Samantha Stosur on her way to victory in the third round.

Jeremy Chardy was not lacking support on court number one on Saturday.

Svetlana Kuznetsova toppled Melinda Czinc in just under an hour on Saturday.

A hot favourite for the women's title, No7 seed Svetlana Kuznetsova.

Hungary's Melinda Czink

It's curtains for Jeremy Chardy, as he loses to Tommy Haas.

Jeremy Chardy, under the watchful eyes of a packed court number one.

Handsome Tommy Haas secures himself a place in the last 16.

Tommy Haas slides in

Tommy Haas saw off Frenchman Jeremy Chardy in four sets, 7-5 6-3 4-6 6-4.

No worries for Ivanovic

Reigning champion Ana Ivanovic continued her ruthless streak, thrashing of Iveta Benesova in the third round today.

The Serbian's 6-0 6-2 win over the Czech, ranked 35 in the world, means she has yet to drop a set at this year's Roland Garros.

Indeed since her hard-fought triumph against Sara Errani in the first round, the eighth seed has conceded only five games.

Her first set today lasted a mere 23 minutes, Ivanovic - who continues to wear protective strapping on the front of her right knee - breaking in the second, fourth and sixth games, clinching the set at the first time of asking when Benesova sent a backhand long.

The pair traded early breaks in the second set but Ivanovic made the move in the sixth set, grabbing her fifth break of the match at the end of a long game to close in on victory.

That was clinched when she brought up match point with a wonderful sliced drop-shot and sealed it with an unreturnable forehand.

Ivanovic, who clobbered Tamarine Tanasugarn 6-1 6-2 in round two, will play ninth seed Victoria Azarenka or 22nd seed Carla Suarez Navarro next.