#RG17 day nine wrap: Big names find their form

Winning a Grand Slam is all about peaking at the right time. The best in the business not only know this but know how to do it, as results on day nine at Roland Garros demonstrated.

Murray, Wawrinka find their form

Some players are adept at finding their form when it matters. Take Andy Murray, for instance. By his own lofty standards, the world No.1 has had a difficult 2017 to date. But things seem to be changing for the Brit, who advanced to the Roland Garros quarterfinals with a 6-3 6-4 6-4 win over Russia’s Karen Khachanov.

If the victory was straightforward, so was Murray’s appraisal of it: “Each match I feel like I played better. I have hit the ball cleaner and started to hit the right shots at the right moments. (I have) come a long way the last ten days or so.”

RELATED:#SmashTalk – Halep’s major statement

Another man with an uncanny knack for peaking when it matters is 2015 champion Stan Wawrinka. The Swiss star, adept at flying under the radar in the early rounds of a Slam, looks very much like the ‘Stanimal’ who has scooped a major title in every one of the last three years. Wawrinka needed two hours 43 minutes to dispatch crowd favourite Gael Monfils 7-5 7-6(7) 6-2.

“I think it was a tough match, tough conditions, quite windy, a lot of tension, because we know each other so well,” Wawrinka opined after the win. “It was important to stay there, to stay strong with myself, and I’m happy to get through.”

Wawrinka will square off against Marin Cilic in the quarterfinals after the Croat benefitted from Kevin Anderson’s retirement while leading 6-3 3-0.

In the day’s other last 16 match, Kei Nishikori survived a first set scare to down a dogged Fernando Verdasco 0-6 6-4 6-4 6-0 and set up a quarterfinal clash with Andy Murray.

Big names battle through

It was a tale of contrasting fortunes for the ‘big’ names remaining in the women’s draw. Simona Halep was a runaway winner against Carla Suarez Navarro, needing exactly one hour to secure the 6-1 6-1 win.

RELATED: A brave new era for women’s tennis

However, things weren’t so simple for her quarterfinal opponent Elina Svitolina. The Ukranian had to haul herself back from 2-5 down in the deciding set to oust Petra Martic 4-6 6-3 7-5. “I just said you know what? I’m going to just put the ball in. I’m going to be aggressive. I’m going to be just win the match, make winners,” Svitolina reflected after the win. “I changed some things the way I played… it brought me to win the match.”

Karolina Pliskova is another quiet achiever at Roland Garros, the world No.2 once again battling past an unheralded opponent. The Czech star, playing on her weakest surface, downed Veronica Cepede Royg 2-6 6-3 6-4 in one hour 51 minutes.

And, finally, Caroline Garcia won the battle of the French stars on Philippe Chatrier, comfortably dispatching Alize Cornet 6-2 6-4.