French Open, Day 8 LIVE: Djokovic faces Verdasco in last-16 clash

Follow the LIVE updates from day eight action of the French Open at Roland Garros.

Updated : Jun 04, 2018 00:54 IST

Novak Djokovic last played in a quarterfinal at the Wimbledon in 2017.
Novak Djokovic last played in a quarterfinal at the Wimbledon in 2017.
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Novak Djokovic last played in a quarterfinal at the Wimbledon in 2017.

Hello and welcome to the live updates from day eight action at the French Open on Sunday.

We will see you tomorrow with more action. Good night!

12.50 am: Well bad light wins! Second seed Caroline Wozniacki and Russia's Daria Kasatkina's match is suspended due to bad light. They are deadlocked at 3-3 in the second set.

12:30 am: The players are saying they're unable to see the ball any more. It's quite unusual because both players seem to agree! After a deliberation of four long minutes, the match official says nothing doing and the players take the court once again. The scoreline reads 1-1.

12.15 am: Kasatkina takes the first set! Wozniacki sends one wide as Kasatkina wins the tiebreak 7-5 and takes a one set lead. Another upset on the cards?

11.45 pm: What a comeback from the second seed. Wozniacki is leading 5-3 in the first set. This is all set to go down to the wire, I guess!

11.30 pm: Kasatkina is 3-1 up in the first set.

11.10 pm: On the Philippe-Chatrier Court, second seed Caroline Wozniacki meets Russia's Daria Kasatkina in a fourth round match.

10.57 pm: We have an upset! Marco Cecchinato defeats eighth seed David Goffin 7-5, 4-6, 6-0, 6-3. What a moment for the unseeded Italian. This will be Cecchinato's first quarterfinal appearance in a Grand Slam! Soak in the moment, Cecchinato! He will play Novak Djokovic for a place in the semifinals.

10.53 pm: Meanwhile on the Suzanne-Lenglen Court, Cecchinato is serving for the match at 5-3 against 8th seed David Goffin.

10.47 pm: It also brings up the 200th win for Novak Djokovic on clay.

10:46 pm: A clinical demolition act, then, for Djokovic, who wins 6-3, 6-4, 6-2.

10:42 pm: Djokovic one game away from a berth in the quarterfinals.

10:22 pm: Cecchinato takes a two sets to one lead against Goffin, clinching the third set 6-0. Meanwhile, at Philippe-Chatrier court, Djokovic is up a break in the third set.

10:16 pm: Cecchinato takes a 5-0 lead against Goffin in the third set.

10:08 pm: Djokovic holds serve, takes the second set 6-4. He needs to win just one more set to move into the quarterfinals. It's an uphill task for Verdasco now.

10:04 pm: A medical time-out for Verdasco, who has his foot attended to, and a medical tape wrapped around it.

9:53 pm: Goffin has taken the second set 6-4 against Cecchinato to level the scores.

9:45 pm: Williams sisters are out of women's doubles at the French Open. They go down to Klepac and Martinez Sanchez 4-6, 7-6, 0-6.

9:41 pm: David Goffin has taken a 5-3 lead in the second set against Marco Cecchinato. Cecchinato clinched the first set.

9:29 pm: Djokovic is up a break in the second set, leading 2-0.

The Williams sisters are on the verge of crashing out of the tourney. They trail 4-0 in the third set.

9:14 pm: The Williams sisters have bounced back in their third round match against Andreja Klepac and Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez, levelling the scores after having lost the first set.

Djokovic takes the first set against Verdasco 6-3.

8:10pm: Big match coming up. Novak Djokovic, seeded 20th this year, takes on Spain's Fernando Verdasco. Djokovic leads the head to head 10-4, but it's 3-all on clay.

8:05pm: A crushing win for the American 10th seed Sloane Stephens, winning 6-2, 6-0 against Anett Kontaveit.

Yulia Putintseva is also through, ousting Barbora Strýcová 6-4, 6-3.

8.00pm: Meanwhile, on Court 1, the Williams sisters are trailing 3-4 in the first set against Andreja Klepač and María José Martínez Sánchez after around 30 minutes of play.

7:44pm: Sloane Stephens is up 6-2, 3-0. She's making quick work of her opponent.

ALSO READ: Zverev breaks new ground in another five-set thriller

7:40pm: Putintseva and Stephens are both up a set and a break.

7:30pm: Stephens wins the opening set 6-2.

7:26pm: Putintseva wins the first set against Strýcová 6-4, while Stephens will serve for the first set at 5-2 in her match against Kontaveit.

Also, the Williams sisters are due to begin their doubles round-of-16 match against Andreja Klepač and María José Martínez Sánchez on Court 1.

6:40pm: Reigning US Open champion Sloane Stephens is up next on Court Philippe-Chatrier, where she will take on Anett Kontaveit of Estonia.

World No.1 Simona Halep, third seed Garbiñe Muguruza, French hope and seventh seed Caroline Garcia and No.12 Angelique Kerber all play tomorrow, but all eyes will be on this match:

ALSO READ: Seismic Serena-Sharapova duel looked inconceivable

A lopsided rivalry if ever there was one, Maria Sharapova has beaten Serena Williams only twice – way back in 2004, in the Wimbledon final that the Russian won aged 17 and the WTA Tour Championships final later that year. Williams has won 19 times, including the previous 18.

6:33pm: Dominic Thiem wins it on his second match point – 6-2, 6-0, 5-7, 6-4 – as Nishikori sends the ball long.

The Austrian is through to the quarterfinals, where he faces second seed Alexander Zverev. But Thiem goes into the match as the favourite – he's gotten to the semis at Roland Garros the past two years and, more importantly, he's spent just 9 hours and 29 minutes on court compared to the German's 11 hours and 56 minutes.

6:28pm: Nishikori holds, and Thiem serves for the match.

6:25pm: Nishikori serves to stay in the match.

6:20pm: Next up on Court Suzanne-Lenglen are Barbora Strýcová and Yulia Putintseva.

6:18pm: Zverev wins! The German second seed is through with a 4-6, 7-6, 2-6, 6-3, 6-3 win over Karen Khachanov of Russia.

But he took 3 hours and 29 minutes to win the match. Zverev has taken 11 hours and 56 minutes to get to the first Grand Slam quarterfinal of his career. Surely, that'll tell on his body. And the 21-year-old doesn't have the five-set experience that either of his potential opponents in the next round – Dominic Thiem and Kei Nishikori – have.

6:10pm: Khachanov serves to stay in the match. It's 5-3 to Zverev in the fifth set. It's been nearly three and a half hours on court now.

5:55pm: Nishikori wins the third set 7-5 against Thiem.

5:48pm: Zverev breaks and then holds serve to go 2-0 up in the decider. The momentum has swung his way now.

5:35pm: Zverev wins the fourth set! It's two sets all on Court Suzanne-Lenglen.

5:20pm: Zverev breaks to go ahead 4-2 in the fourth set. The German needs to win this set and the next to reach the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam for the first time. He did that in his previous two games. Can he do it again?

5:02pm: Thiem takes the second set 6-0 to put Nishikori in a spot of bother.

And Zverev is two sets to one down against Khachanov. The second seed is looking tired. He spent an hour more on court than Khachanov in his first three matches.

4:34pm: Thiem wins the first set 6-2 against Nishikori.

4:30pm: Khachanov breaks to go 2-1 up in the third set.

It's not been easy for Alexander Zverev. He's been pushed to five sets in both his previous matches. If he gets through to the quarterfinals, how much will he have left in his tank?

ALSO READ: Zverev denies Dzumhur in Roland Garros thriller to break new ground

Elsewhere, Thiem serves for the first set at 5-2.

4:20pm: Zverev wins the tie-break 7-4. It's one set all.

On Court Philippe-Chatrier, Thiem is up a break and serving at 3-2.

4:15pm: It's 4-2 to Zverev at the changeover.

4:10pm: Two quicks games and the second set between Khachanov and Zverev goes to a tie-break.

The Thiem-Nishikori match is at 1-1 in the first set.

4:06pm: Zverev makes an absolute dog's dinner of closing out the second set. He first goes down 0-40, then levels, then squanders three set points, then saves a break point and finally sends one long to give Khachanov the break. It's 5-5.

3:55pm: Seventh seed Dominic Thiem and Kei Nishikori will play next on Court Philippe-Chatrier.

The Austrian reached the semis in both 2016 and 2017, losing to the eventual champion both times – Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal.

3:52pm: On Court Suzanne-Lenglen, Zverev is up a break but down a set to Khachanov. Khachanov to serve at 6-4, 3-5.

3:45pm: We have the first of our quarterfinalists: Madison Keys is through. Buzărnescu saved two match points and broke back at 2-5, but Keys served an ace on her third match point to win 6-1, 6-4.

For those wanting more of Mihaela Buzărnescu, tune in same time tomorrow, when she plays with compatriot Irina Bara for a place in the doubles quarters.

3:32pm: It's 5-1 to Keys in the second set.

Is Buzărnescu's dream run about to end? The Romanian turned 30 less than a month ago, won her first Grand Slam match last Sunday and beat Elina Svitolina, one of the favourite's to win the tournament, on Friday.

ALSO READ: Dr Buzarnescu making up for lost time to a degree in Paris

3:27pm: Keys breaks Buzărnescu for a second time to go up 4-1 in the second set. The American is now two games away from reaching the quarters at Roland Garros for the first time.

3:25pm: Khachanov breaks Zverev to win the first set 6-4.

3:19pm: Keys goes up a break at 2-1 in the second set.

3:04pm: Madison Keys breaks twice to win the first set 6-1 against Mihaela Buzărnescu, who saved four set points but not the fifth.

In the battle of the 6'6ers, Zverev and Khachanov are three games apiece.

2:46pm: Sunday's action at the Roland Garros gets underway with Karen Khachanov taking on Alexander Zverev in men's singles. In women's singles, Madison Keys is up against Mihaela Buzarnescu in her last-16 clash.

Former champion Novak Djokovic takes on Fernando Verdasco in a high-octane clash on Sunday, looking to reach his first Grand Slam quarterfinal since Wimbledon last year, with Alexander Zverev and Caroline Wozniacki also in last-16 action at Roland Garros.

Here are the top three matches to watch on day seven of the French Open:

Novak Djokovic (SRB x20) vs Fernando Verdasco (ESP x30)

– 2016 champion Djokovic has the chance to reach an Open era record 12th quarter-final in Paris and equal Roger Federer's mark of nine straight appearances in the last eight by beating Verdasco for the sixth successive time. The Serb, at his lowest seeding for over a decade after a lengthy fight against elbow trouble, last lost to the 34-year-old Spaniard eight years ago but Verdasco showed he is a danger by knocking out fourth seed Grigor Dimitrov in straight sets in the third round.

Verdasco is trying to reach his first Roland Garros quarter-final on his 15th appearance in Paris. Djokovic is also looking to reach the quarter-finals of a Slam for the 40th occasion.

Karen Khachanov (RUS) vs Alexander Zverev (GER x2)

– Second seed Zverev takes on his childhood friend Khachanov on Court Suzanne Lenglen for only their second meeting as professionals. The 21-year-old Zverev has had to dig deep to reach the second week after following his five-set win over Dusan Lajovic by saving a match point in another marathon encounter with Damir Dzumhur.

Daria Kasatkina (RUS x14) vs Caroline Wozniacki (DEN x2)

– Kasatkina takes on the Australian Open champion boasting a 2-1 career record over the Dane with both of those wins coming this year – in St Petersburg and at Indian Wells where the Russian went on to finish runner-up.

Wozniacki has hardly been troubled in her three rounds so far and has yet to drop a set. In her last two matches, she's lost only four games.

Kasatkina, the world number 14, is bidding to reach the quarter-finals of a Slam for the first time and beat her previous best performance of a last-16 run at last year's US Open. Wozniacki, meanwhile, is looking to make the quarter-finals in Paris for the third time.

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