Day 9 at The French Open

Today Gael Monfils reached the quarterfinals and finished what he started yesterday.  The match, which lasted two days because of darkness, was continued today and ended in celebration for Monfils.  He defeated the higher ranked player David Ferrer from Spain 6-4, 2-6, 7-5, 1-6, 8-6.  Monfils will have to play Roger Federer in the quarterfinals.

"Now I need to recover and at some point I'll stop losing against this Swiss," said Monfils, who has lost five of his six matches against Federer.

Over on court Philippe Chatrier Rafa increased his record to 42-1 at Roland Garros, trumping Ivan Ljubicic 7-5, 6-3, 6-3 to reach the quarters.

"I have improved since the tournament started," said Nadal, who was pushed to five sets in the first round. "I'm able to play better and I'm going to continue on this path."

Even though Novak Djokovic did not play today, he still reached the semis because quarterfinal opponent Fabio Fognini withdraw from the tournament due to injury.

              Andy Murray                                Viktor Troicki

Andy Murray and Viktor Troicki were even at two sets a piece today when their match was stopped due to poor seeing conditions.  The score at the time of stopage was 4-6, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2.

Nadal will face the Swede Robin Soderling in the quarters after Robin defeated Gilles Simon of France 6-2, 6-3, 7-6 (5).

Soderling

"For me it will be a tough match," Nadal said minutes before Soderling completed his victory. "He's played two finals here at Roland Garros, so he knows what this means. He's got to play his best tennis."

Also, unseeded Juan Ignacio Chela defeated  Alejandro Falla of Colombia 4-6, 6-2, 1-6, 7-6 (5), 6-2.  He is from Argentina and is the only non-European left in the men's draw.