Fernando Verdasco rolled back the clock on Friday at Roland Garros, when he saved four set points in the first set en route to victory in the 350th clay-court match of his career (218-132). Verdasco, the No. 30 seed from Spain, booked his place in the fourth round for the seventh time, equaling his best performance at the Grand Slam championship, with a 7-6(4), 6-2, 6-4 victory over fourth-seeded Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov in two hours and 22 minutes. "In the first set, I had to save a few set points in one game, and I was just trying to be in that moment point-by-point and trying to just do the best I could," said Verdasco. "I was able to win...
Watch highlights as World No. 1 and 10-time champion Rafael Nadal sweeps past Guido Pella on Thursday at Roland Garros. Video courtesy of Roland Garros. Photo Credit: Clive Brunskill/Getty Images
Watch highlights as fifth seed Juan Martin del Potro ends the Roland Garros career of Julien Benneteau on Thursday. Benneteau will retire later this year. Video courtesy of Roland Garros. Photo Credit: Clive Brunskill/Getty Images
You have to wonder, somewhere deep inside Alexander Zverev's head, was there a doubt swirling around, saying “Here we go, again?” Zverev has won three ATP World Tour Masters 1000 titles but never reached the quarter-final of a Grand Slam. And during his second-round match on Wednesday at Roland Garros, the 21-year-old fell behind two sets to one against Serbian Dusan Lajovic, who has been playing fine clay-court tennis, having reached the quarter-finals at the Mutua Madrid Open. At the Australian Open, Zverev was in a similar spot, and faded. He led two sets to one against reigning Next Gen ATP Finals champion Hyeon Chung, but lost the last two 3-6, 0-6. On Wednesday, however, perhaps Zverev turned a corner....
Do not test Juan Martin del Potro's knowledge of Roland Garros history. The Argentine, always prepared on the court, has been doing his homework off the court as well, as he showed on Thursday during his press conference. Q. This is not a question about the match, but I wondered, do you know who Roland Garros was? Del Potro: Yes. Q. Can you tell us? Del Potro: He was an aviator. A-ha. You're surprised? Q. You're the first person in here that's got that. Del Potro: Because they asked me a few days ago and I Google it. Del Potro was also sharp on the court on Thursday, winning his second-round match against Frenchman Julien Benneteau, who was playing his...