Hello and welcome to Sportstar's LIVE blog of Day 9 of the 2019 French Open.
1:00am: At the time of closing the blog, Khachanov leads two sets to one, and 4-1 in the fourth set.
12:30am: Del Potro ain't one to give up! He brings himself back into the tie by clinching the third set 6-3.
11:40pm: Khachanov appears to be in cruise control! He's pocketed the second set 6-3 and has one foot in the quarterfinal.
11:00pm: Khachanov has taken the first set 7-5 against eighth seed del Potro.
9:50pm: Defending champion Simona Halep is through to the quarterfinals after a 45-minute thrashing of Polish teenager Iga Swiatek.
9:30pm: Alexander Zverev has come from a set down to beat Fabio Fognini 3-6, 6-2, 6-2, 7-6.
8:41pm: Fabio Fognini seems to have lost the plot here. He serves a double fault on set point for Zverev. Zverev leads 3-6, 6-2, 6-2.
8:40pm: GAME, SET, MATCH - THIEM! Fourth seed Dominic Thiem sails into the last-eight with a clinical 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 win over Gael Monfils.
8:26pm: Fabio Fognini gets a warning for unsportsmanlike conduct after smashing his racquet on clay. He's called for his trainer and that's a medical time-out as well. Zverev leads 3-6, 6-2, 4-2.
8:10pm: WOW!That tweener from Thiemis probably the shot of the year . Even Gael Monfils can't keep his appreciation under wraps and Court Philippe-Chartier is up on its feet.
Thiem showed insane speed to get to the net and return a drop shot from Monfils. Then he pulled off something even more insane as he sprinted back to the baseline and and played a tweener, while running at full speed. Thiem breaks to lead 6-4, 6-4, 2-1.
7:36pm: Some sensational tennis in play between Monfils and Thiem. Power, precision and athleticism. Monfils leads the second set 3-2.
7:22pm: Zverev has lost the first set 6-3 against Fabio Fognini.
7:18pm: Set point to Thiem and Monfils doesn't even try. First set to Thiem, 6-4.
7:15pm: Monfils holds serve to take the first set score to 4-5. The match has taken a turn. Pressure on Thiem.
7:13pm: "Gael Monfils is alive and kicking," says the commentator. He breaks Thiem with some excellent play from the back of the court and keeps the set alive, 5-3.
This is one of the most exciting match-ups so far. One of the best players on clay against one of the best athletes and most entertaining players in tennis. Watch out for some exciting play.
7:00pm: Fourth seed Dominic Thiem is in action against local boy Gael Monfils on Court Philippe-Chartier. Thiem leads 4-1.
Fifth seed Alexander Zverev takes on Fabio Fognini on Suzanne-Lenglen. Zverev trails 2-3 in the first set.
6:05pm: Kei Nishikori clinches a thriller against Benoit Paire . Nishikori reaches the quarterfinals for the third time after a match that was played over two days and lasted 3 hours and 55 minutes. [ REPORT ]
6:04pm: Djokovic wins! It turned out to be quite easy for the Serb who beats Jan-Lennard Struff 6-3, 6-2, 6-2. Can he become the second man in history to twice hold all four major titles at the same time? Rod Laver thinks so .
5:57pm: Novak Djokovic is only a step away from the quarterfinals, leading the third set 5-1. Australian tennis legend Rod Laver believes Djokovic can go on to win the tournament and complete a calendar grand slam .
5:50pm: Nishikori fights back. Breaks Paire and levels te set 5-5.
5:47pm: Local boy Benoit Paire is making an incredible comeback against Kei Nishikori. From almost losing the match in the fourth set, he's leading the final set 5-3. Both the sets he's won has gone to tiebreakers.
5:35pm: Djokovic finds the second slightly easier than the first, taking it 6-2. Doesn't seem like we have an upset coming.
5:05pm: Struff put up a strong fight in the first set but Novak wins it 6-3.
4:36pm: Djokovic is up against Jan-Lennard Struff on Court Philippe-Chartier. Do we have an upset on the cards here?
Germany's Struff has pulled off more than one upset in the best year of his career so far. He beat Alexander Zverev at Indian Wells, upset Tsitspas at Barcelona third round and beat Marin Cilic at Madrid.
The 28-year-old, a late bloomer, is in his first Grand Slam fourth round.
4:09pm: Ashleigh Barty wins! Kenin is bageled in the final set. Barty wins 6-3, 3-6, 6-0 and continues her bid to become the first Australian to win the French Open title since Margaret Court. [ REPORT ]
Barty has had an interesting sporting career, leaving tennis to play cricket and then coming back to tennis.
READ | How cricket helped Ashleigh Barty fall in love with tennis again
4:08pm: Great defense by Barty, who's showing signs of being one of the top contenders for the title. She gets to match point.
Oh almost forgot, it's Rafael Nadal's birthday today. Happy Birthday, Rafa. It's destiny that the 11-time Roland Garros champion's birthday always comes during French Open.
But he's promised to keep his birthday celebrations low-key.
4:00pm: Barty leads the third set 4-0 and she's clearly in the driver's seat now. Kenin's frustrations see no end.
3:56pm: Madison Keys is through to the quarterfinals after beating Katerina Siniakova 6-2, 6-4
3:42pm: Kenin takes the second set 6-3 and we're into the decider.
3:16pm: Sofia Kenin holds serve to go 3-0 up in the second set. Strong comeback from the 20-year-old.
Kenin pulled off what was arguably one of her biggest wins when she beat 23-time Grand Slam champion and fellow American Serena Williams in the third round of French Open.
The 20-year-old has been racking up the points this year, winning at Hobart and reaching the final at Acapulco earlier this year.
3:10pm: Madison Keys has taken the first set 6-2 against Katerina Siniakova on Court Suzanne-Lenglen.
Novak Djokovic eyes a 13th French Open quarterfinal when he comes up against Jan-Lennard Struff later today. Read the preview .
3:04pm: Barty has closed out the first set 6-3 in 25 minutes.
We saw one of the best matches of the tournament yesterday as Tsitsipas and Wawrinka played out a five-hour epic . Watch the 'Shot of the day' that brought an end to the match.
2:57pm: Sofia Kenin breaks and keeps the set alive. 5-2.
2:55pm: Ashleigh Barty has raced through the set at 5-1. 17 minutes gone in the set and she's serving for the set now.
Federer, Nadal go through and an enthralling clash between Stefanos Tsitsipas and Stan Wawrinka. Here's what happened yesterday in the French Open.
Highlights from Day 8
- Roger Federer bt Leonardo Mayer 6-2, 6-3, 6-3
- Marketa Vondrousova bt Anastasija Sevastova 6-2, 6-0
- Petra Martic bt Kaia Kanepi 5-7, 6-2, 6-4
- Johanna Konta bt Donna Vekic 6-2, 6-4
- Stan Wawrinka bt Stefanos Tsitsipas 7-6 (8), 5-7, 6-4, 3-6, 8-6
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