Bob Larson's Tennis News | Monte-Carlo Masters Friday Summary

Singles - Quarterfinal: (1) N Djokovic def. R Haase 6-4 6-2
Novak Djokovic seems to be doing a fine job of winning for the sake of his grandfather. Robin Haase will fall just a little short of the Top Forty.

Singles - Quarterfinal: (2) R Nadal def. S Wawrinka 7-5 6-4
If this is how Rafael Nadal plays on one bum knee, maybe he should try injuring the other! There really isn't much evidence that he is bothered. He strengthens his grip on the #2 ranking while leaving Stanislas Wawrinka below the Top Twenty.

Singles - Quarterfinal: (6) T Berdych def. (3) A Murray 6-7(4-7) 6-2 6-3
Novak Djokovic's path just keeps getting easier. First David Ferrer went out, now Andy Murray. That makes the order of the Big Four a lot less likely to change this spring -- Murray remains about a thousand points behind #3 Roger Federer. For Tomas Berdych, this moves him to within one win of passing David Ferrer to reach the #6 ranking.

Singles - Quarterfinal: (9) G Simon def. (4) J Tsonga 7-5 6-4
Gilles Simon is rare among today's Frenchmen in that he likes clay. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga doesn't. That probably explains this result. Tsonga will stay at #5, but he isn't going to make much progress toward the Big Four. But Simon is up to #12, with an outside shot at the Top Ten this week.

Doubles - Quarterfinal: (1) Bryan/Bryan def. (5) Paes/Stepanek 6-2 6-0
That must be highly satisfying for the Bryans: Not only did they win, they beat the best team of the year so far.

Doubles - Quarterfinal: (2) Mirnyi/Nestor def. Troicki/Wawrinka 6-4 7-5
In the rankings, though, Mirnyi/Nestor keep the pressure on the Bryans.

Doubles - Quarterfinal: (3) Llodra/Zimonjic def. Marach/Peya 6-2 6-1

Doubles - Quarterfinal: Granollers/M Lopez def. F Mayer/Melzer 6-0 6-1
We have to wonder a little what is going on here. Four doubles quarterfinals, and two of them involved bagels?