Pakistan beat Sri Lanka in 1st odi

Umar Gul picked up the first three wickets.

Pakistan 135 for 4 (Hafeez 37, Akmal 36*) beat Sri Lanka 135 for 8 (Thirimanne 42*, Gul 3-24, Sami 3-19) by six wickets (D/L method).It turned out to be a good toss to lose for Pakistan, as their seamers, led by Umar Gul, set up a comfortable six-wicket win by keeping Sri Lanka to a paltry 135. The ball nipped around, skidded, turned and bounced alarmingly and tested the technique and patience of the batsmen, with the cloudy conditions giving the bowlers an overwhelming advantage. Three rain interruptions in the first innings did little to help Sri Lanka's cause. They struggled to build momentum and sizeable partnerships, and following a lengthy rain interruption, the overs were culled to 42, leaving very few overs in the end to accelerate.Pakistan too were tested by a probing opening spell by Sri Lanka's seamers, but they could afford to take their time and grind it out. Subcontinent pitches aren't known to produce too many low-scoring games, and based on the evidence so far in the three games on tour, watching the bowlers have a say has been compelling.Runs off the bat were at a premium as Sri Lanka's top four failed to reach double-digits and their combined contribution was outscored by extras. It was a struggle, not just to pick the gaps but to put bat on ball. Sohail Tanvir's angle away from the right-hander kept Mahela Jayawardene playing and missing; Gul's bounce off a good length and incutters troubled Tillakaratne Dilshan, who looked like he hadn't yet shrugged off the Twenty20 hangover.It was a battle of attrition at both ends. Sri Lanka had two of their most experienced accumulators at the crease - Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara - but the seamers found ways to avert a partnership. An indipper from Gul trapped Jayawardene lbw, before Dinesh Chandimal chopped one onto his stumps without using his feet.The batsmen may have had their wallets nicked when they walked out to bat - they couldn't even buy a run. In the first ten overs, Pakistan didn't concede a run off the bat for 26 consecutive legal deliveries. In that period, the only source of runs was 13 wides. The first boundary off the bat - there were only six in all - came in the 12th over. Any semblance of a recovery was halted when Mohammad Sami nipped out two wickets in successive overs, leaving Sri Lanka five down at the 15th over.Rain forced interruptions in the 18th over and again after the 24th. What followed after the second interruption were two of the most productive partnerships. Lahiru Thirimanne added 25 with Thisara Perera, and doubled that with Nuwan Kulasekara. It was still a battle for survival, and the frequent interruptions didn't help Sri Lanka's bid to find momentum to accelerate. Following the third rain interval, which stretched to an hour and a quarter, Sri Lanka had only five overs to bat out. Thirimanne slogged and swished at several deliveries and managed to fetch three boundaries, including one off the final ball. Subtracting the wides, Sri Lanka would have been defending a much lesser score.Sri Lanka managed only six fours in their innings, hitting the first only in the 12th over. Pakistan hit their first four as early as the third ball, when Mohammad Hafeez punched Lasith Malinga past the covers. Malinga soon had Azhar Ali caught off a loose drive, and he continued to create half chances by shaping the ball away from the right-handers. Kulasekara posed questions by getting the ball to cut back in - his stock delivery - and one of those breached Younis Khan's defences, leaving Pakistan at 27 for 2.The pressure created by that dismissal led to three consecutive maidens. Misbah-ul-Haq halted a run-drought that lasted 25 deliveries with a slash past point for four. While Hafeez gave Pakistan the edge with positive shots, including a lofted off-drive for six, what prevented Pakistan from imploding was Misbah's calm presence.Pakistan were a batsman short, so it was imperative one senior player pitched a tent through the duration of the innings, which Misbah had all but achieved. It was a pressure-free scenario for Umar Akmal to play his strokes, as Pakistan coasted home to extend their recent domination over Sri Lanka, with their ninth win in 11 games.

Andy Murray 'Out', Rafael Nadal and David Ferrer 'In' the semi finals of French open

Confirmation arrived at Roland Garros that Andy Murray does not yet belong in the same grand slam company as the world's top three tennis players.

There is a reason why  Rafa Nadal is called "the Boss" by Nicolas Almagro and on Wednesday the ruthless claycourt king fired his fellow-Spaniard in his pursuit of a record seventh Roland Garros title.Nadal defeated Almagro 7-6, 6-2, 6-3 to put another Spaniard David Ferrer in the firing line in Friday's French Open semifinals.Ferrer made it through to his first Paris semi at the ripe old age of 30 after bouncing out British world number four Andy Murray 6-4, 6-7, 6-3, 6-2 on a soggy day in the French capital.So how did the sixth seed rate his chances of reaching Sunday's final?"Winning a match against Rafa is almost impossible," he summed up bluntly.At least Ferrer struck a blow for the 30-somethings. By joining Roger Federer, who turns 31 in August, in the last four, it is the first time since 1969 that two 30-year-olds have made it to the same stage at Roland Garros.At 25, age was on Murray's side but unfortunately he failed to make that count.The Briton, a semifinalist last year, had never beaten a Spaniard on red dirt before Wednesday and the prospect of breaking that losing run against Ferrer looked bleak from the outset.Ferrer had sliced through the draw with a perfect 12-0 sets record and, although he dropped his first set on day 11 of the championships, Murray never looked like he had the weapons to bulldoze past an opponent nicknamed "The Wall."Along with Ferrer, Nadal and Almagro had also won 12 consecutive sets coming into the quarterfinals but by the end of the day only one man still held an intact record.

Maria Sharapova And Petra Kvitova Reach The Semis

Maria Sharapova rediscovered the devastatingly accurate form that has made her the most impressive player of the clay court season when she routed Kaia Kanepi 6-2, 6-3 in their quarter-final.With that victory, no.2 seed Sharapova has entered her third Roland Garros semi-final and for the first time in her career, she is looking like the player who is favoured to win it. The three-time Grand Slam title winner will face the Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova, who survived qualifier Yaroslava Shvedova 3-6, 6-2, 6-4. It will be the third time in the last four Grand Slams that the two have met.In her fourth round victory over Klara Zakopalova, Sharapova had trouble serving and keeping her groundstrokes accurate, but that was not the case against Kanepi, as she served accurately and with pace and direction. She owned the Estonian with her down-the-line game from the baseline, and constantly had the powerful Kanepi on her heels. As she has done all spring, she returned ferociously, breaking Kanepi seven times and winning 74 percent of Kanepi's second serve points."She played very well," Kanepi said afterwards. "She was attacking all the time, and I didn't have much time to do my shots.  She puts the pressure on when she returns.  It's not very comfortable to serve."While neither woman was very accurate while sliding out wide, Sharapova did manage 21 winners and did a good job of keeping the points short, requiring just 74 minutes for the victory.“There were a few things I wanted to improve from the other matches," Sharapova said. "I just thought I played very defensively against an opponent that likes that type of game.  Today I did want to be aggressive and I did want to try and step in and move forward and get the first good hit on the ball."The 25-year-old Russian has won 17 of her 18 matches on clay this year, by far the most impressive mark of her career. She has become substantially stronger over the years. During the off-season and in between the hard-court and clay season, she worked with trainer Yutaka Nakamura to improve her footwork. Since she isn’t always slipping around when defending, she is able to get her feet set into more offensive positions."I think it's just about improving movement in general on any surface that you're playing," she said. "Obviously there are a few different movements on clay with the sliding and the recovering and getting back into the point which you work on, but I think it's just a general sense of movement."Meantime Kvitova – who has had a rough stretch battling illness and injuries since she reached the 2012 Australian Open semis – played an up and down contest against the ambitious Shvedova, but hung tough after she went down a break in the third set. Not the most patient of players, the big lefthander constantly went for her shots and it paid off, as in the last two sets she found the range with her hooking serve and massive forehand. Shvedova fought gamely, but said she was super-tired and Kvitova was simply too strong for her, nailing 38 winners to 14 from the Kazak."I expected it will be tough match and it was actually," Kvitova said. "She start well and I was very nervous from the beginning. The first set I did easy mistakes.  Then I knew that I had to change my game and I have to be the aggressive one and going for the points. The games were very close.  I'm happy that I won the big points. I couldn't give up."Not only has the Czech reached her first Roland Garros semi-final, she has won five matches in a row for the first time since January. She feels that her form is coming back."It's good to know that I can play and I hope that it will be not only five. But I know Maria is a tough opponent. I lost in the [last two] matches [against her].  She's playing very well.  She has a great season right now, and she's very tough opponent.”

David Ferrer To Meet Rafael Nadal In Second Semi-Final

A Shocking Result As David Ferrer Outclassed Andy Murray The World No.4 By  6-4, 6-7(3), 6-3, 6-2 in 3 hours 45 mins and seal a first-ever appearance in a French Open semi-final, where he faces Rafael Nadal. The Spanish sixth seed was a picture of consistency all match long, in contrast to the British No.4 seed who hit 59 unforced errors  in a wasteful performance that saw him fail to reach a sixth consecutive Grand Slam.Watching Murray is to see a perfectionist at work. A man possessed with winning, the fourth member of the 'Big Four' is his own harshest critic, and misfiring all match long, the Scot had a harrowing afternoon. Ferrer meanwhile is a frustrating man to face, even for the most mild-mannered player. The Spaniard's preferred method of winning is suffocation, squeezing the life out of his adversaries, rarely going for winners and not attacking unless the time is just right. The man from Valencia keeps hitting, long and relentlessly, until his opponent cracks, as Murray did too often today.

Murray falls into Ferrer trap

Ferrer is hard to beat because he plays the percentage game – brilliantly – keeping his unforced error count down to a strict minimum, and on clay this carefully thought-out tactic is more than enough to beat all but the very best.He had not dropped a set all tournament, and he lured Murray into the same trap as his earlier victims. Undecided as to whether he should attack or defend, the Scot fell between two stools, and was caught in long rallies that ended more often than not when he committed an error. And when he did try to throw in a drop-shot or change things up, the ploy did not work.The Spaniard had done his homework on Murray, and brought a 3-0 head-to-head record on clay into the match. He knew the Brit loves nothing more than defending before counter punching, so played a waiting game of his own. Crucially, the Scot's service was not giving him a platform and he was broken twice in the first set, at 1-2 and then more significantly 4-5, nullifying the good work he had done to get back into the set with a break of his own. The second set was the same story in reverse: Murray broke Ferrer twice only to hand back the advantage in the very next game as the Scot's seemingly uncharacteristic errors become ever more commonplace.

Rain break turn the tie

A tie-break in that second set, and with drizzle beginning to fall, Murray found the form that had carried him to five consecutive Grand Slam semis. At last he went on the offensive, properly and wholeheartedly, and snatched the decider 7-3 to level the match. With the wind well and truly in his sails, Murray held to open the third set, but then came perhaps the turning point of the match. Drizzle became rain and the play was suspended. When the pair returned after the break, it was as if Murray had forgotten that he had seized the initiative, and we were back to the script of the first two sets. Break followed break until Ferrer grabbed his third of the set to win it 6-3.The match had turned definitively in the Spaniard's favour and he was ruthless in putting Murray away in the fourth set. To his credit, the Scot went for his shots more, but Ferrer was now full of confidence, chasing everything down and, whisper it quietly, even hitting the odd winner of his own. He broke Murray twice early in the set, raced to a 4-1 lead and saw it out to make it through to the final four of a major for the first time in his 12-year career. And for the first time in six Slams, Murray was out before the semi-final stage, making his hold on "big four" status more tenuous than before.

Rafael Nadal Beats Nicolas Almagro To go Ahead In Semis

Rafael Nadal Defeated His Countrymen Nicolas Almagro To Go ahead By 7-6(4), 6-2, 6-3.Nicolas Almagro Was Good In first set but Lost His Rhythm In second and third.Almagro had much cause for optimism prior to this one, above and beyond the expression third time lucky. Almagro had not dropped a set all tournament long, and had not dropped one en-route to his ATP tour win in Nice last month. He had risen to no.12 in the world and was playing the best tennis of his life, most recently in his comfortable win over Janko Tipsarevic. That he was on a roll was very much evident in the first set. For the first 12 games he went toe-to-toe with his fellow Spaniard, aided by the fact that Nadal’s backhand seemed not quite up to speed. Almagro’s own backhand, meanwhile – a beautiful one-handed flourish in this age of two-fisted uniformity – was doing some damage.Yet when it came to the breaker, the qualities which had stood him in good stead up to that point seemed to desert him, and he could make no headway. An exchange of 34 strokes saw Nadal blast a forehand down the line for a clean winner. Briefly Almagro rallied, coming back from 1-5 to 4-5 with the aid of that backhand. But Nadal still forced set point, and Almagro could not find an answer to his service delivery. The set was done.Early in the second Nadal was at full throttle to force two break points. He went crosscourt with his backhand to push his opponent out wide, and Almagro could only put it in the net to give the break for 1-3. Almagro came back with everything he had, and at 2-4 he punished Nadal once again with his crosscourt backhand for his one break point of the set. In the long fighting rally which ensued, Almagro chased for every get, making Nadal play one more stroke – but when it mattered, Nadal put the ball away and then held for 5-2. On set point the Almagro backhand which had worked so beautifully sent the ball long.As rain began to fall on Philippe Chatrier court, Almagro was not giving up. Three times he had break point, and three times loose shots saw them all go by. At 3-4 he double-faulted for break point, and Nadal drove him from one side of the court to the other to force the advantage. At the death, Nadal nailed victory by hammering home an ace on his first match point. On this evidence, Rafa is looking as strong as ever, and his dream of a record seventh straight title at Roland Garros is very much alive. 

Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic in 1st semi finals of French open

 Roger Federer, right, and Novak Djokovic have met 25 times before, with Federer winning 14 of them. In last year's French Open semi-final, Federer ended Djokovic's 41-match win streak to start the season.  

Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic  will go head to head for the 26th time in the French Open semi-finals on Friday and both agreed the outcome lay in the lap of the gods.At one stage in Tuesday's quarter-finals at Roland Garros it looked like both were on their way out.Federer was two sets to love down against Juan Martin del Potro and at the same time, Djokovic was being run ragged by Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.But, in keeping with their superstar status, both men found a way back, winning in five sets in each case.Federer leads their head-to-heads 14-11, but the recent outcomes between the two favours the Serb, the top seed here who is bidding to become only the third man to hold all four Grand Slam titles at the same time, 43 years after Rod Laver achieved the fabulous feat for the second time.Djokovic lost in four sets to Federer in last year's French Open semi-finals, but that was his only defeat in their last six encounters, which notably included an epic five sets win in the semi-finals of the US Open in New York last September.Djokovic, after saving four match points against Tsonga in a quarter-final thriller, said he knew what to expect."I don't want to talk too much about Roger. We all know his quality and can always expect him to perform his best at this stage of the tournament," he said."He came back from two sets down today. We both played tough matches in the last two rounds. Now we're going to have two days off and expect an exciting semi-final."Last year we were part of a great match that went the distance, and he played incredibly well."I think for me it's crucial to be very focused and aggressive from the first moment, because that's something that you can always expect Roger to have, you know, that control over the opponent from the start."Now there is no real favorite for that match. It's semi-finals, so everything is open."Federer, bidding for a record 17th Grand Slam title here, sounded equally even-minded after his victory over Del Potro, which saw the Swiss star struggle for two sets before the tall Argentinian wilted physically."I know that I have to reach a level of 10 to play against him. So that's all I can say. We'll see," he said."We'll see how fit he is. I know I have to play a great match."Both men know that the winner in Friday's semi-finals will likely face an even greater challenge in Sunday's final should, as expected, six-times winner Rafael Nadal make it through.Djokovic needed five setters in the fourth round and in the last eight to reach the semis, while Federer has lost five sets so far and looked uneasy in his fourth round match against Belgian lucky loser David Goffin.In contrast, Nadal has roared into the quarter-finals for the loss of a meagre 19 games and has yet to drop a set.Neither Djokovic nor Federer has ever beaten Nadal at Roland Garros, with the Spaniard now having a career record here of 49 wins and just the one loss, to Robin Soderling of Sweden in the fourth round in 2009.

Monday 4th June Roland Garros 4th Round News :

Women's 4th round Results: 

Kazakh Yaroslava Shvedova Defeats The Chinese Star LI Na By 3-6, 6-2, 6-0.On a windy and cold day in Paris, the fortunes of two Grand Slam champions blew in different directions as Maria Sharapova needed to labor for more than three hours to score a victory, while defending Roland Garros champion Li Na was stunned by a qualifier.Kazakh Yaroslava Shvedova ended Li's hope of becoming the first back to back titlist since Justine Henin won three crowns between 2005-2007 when she hit through the Chinese 3-6, 6-2, 6-0 on Court Suzanne Lenglen in a match where Li completely lost her rhythm in the last two sets.Li, who had looked good in her first three matches and had reached the final of Rome two weeks ago, committed 41 unforced errors and could not stay with the charged-up Shvedova off the ground."Nothing happen," Li said. "I just try to play ball back to the court, but I can't. I mean, just like normal.  Tennis, only two players on the court.  Only win or is lose.  For me is nothing special.  If today I lose the match, lose.  If I win, just win.  If I lose the match, I have to find the reason why I lose the match.  I have to try working hard next day."No.142 Shvedova, who reached a career high ranking of no.29 two years ago after reaching the quarter-finals of Roland Garros, had fallen off the map in singles, as she began the year ranked no.201 and had to play ITF Futures events to get her confidence back and her ranking high enough so she'd even have a chance to qualify for the majors."It's the most incredible win for me," Shvedova said. "I always have nice matches against top players, because it's I have no pressure, and I always come to beat them." She will play Petra Kvitova, who seems to have finally found her form on clay and made her class count against Varvara Lepchenko, who looked overawed by the challenge of taking on the Wimbledon champion. Kvitova needed no second invitation to blast the American out of the tournament 6-2, 6-1.

Sharapova and Czech Klara Zakopalova fought tooth and nail in match that featured 21 breaks of serves, but also some searing groundstrokes from both women, who combined for 82 winners. Even though she failed to serve the match out twice in the second set and saw Zakopalova hit through her in a hard-fought contest that tested both players legs and wills, Sharapova came away with a 6-4 6-7(5) 6-2 victory."My opponent I played extremely well, the best that she's played against me," Sharapova said. "She's dangerous. She can play well  because first of all, she's had very good wins, so she's confident.  On top of that, when she hits the ball, I think some days she goes out there and goes for it, and it seems like everything just goes in and stays so low over the net.A great example is that first match point,  she was just drilling the ball. I'm sure some other days she goes out and makes mistakes. And that's probably why she came to this tournament not seeded.  But she's certainly dangerous. But I came out strong in the third set, and I guess that's really what matters and nice to be in the quarters again."

With no.1 Victoria Azarenka, defending champion Li as well as 13-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams out of the draw, it may appear that this is Sharapova's best chance to complete a career Grand Slam, but as the 30-year-old Zakopalova showed on Monday, there are plenty of players who do not fear the higher seeds and can stay with them.But perhaps the one positive that came out of Sharapova' near career ending shoulder surgery in 2008 is she spent a tremendous amount of time off court strengthening her body. Plus, she doesn’t panic like she used to on clay."It's more like I felt like I would always have to save myself, because knowing that it's seven matches, I never felt like I recovered that well," said Sharapova who has fizzled during the second week of Roland Garros on seven previous occasions.  But I think with experience and just being physically stronger, I'm much better at that. Here you have a day off, so it's like helpful."The second seed added that while she did jam her right wrist during the match that it feels OK.Sharapova will play Kaia Kanepi, who downed Arantxa Rus 6-1, 4-6, 6-0. The Estonian was hugely impressive, especially in that last set, shrugging off her second set blip to crush her young Dutch opponent.

Men's 4th Round Results:

Andy Murray waited out a perfect storm of a first set by his opponent Richard Gasquet before taking the match by the scruff of the neck to win 1-6, 6-4, 6-1, 6-2. He was blown away for the first half-an-hour, held his own for the next set before turning the match on its head.The match was a contrast in styles between the old and the new school. One-handed backhands are a dying art that is destined to be "grandfathered" out of the sport once Federer, Wawrinka and Gasquet retire. Coaches refuse to teach youngsters this arcane skill as it is said to put too much stress on the shoulder. In years to come, historians will speak fondly of the continental grip that was all the rage back in the 20th century, but for half-an-hour on a chilly Philippe Chatrier Court, it was back in fashion and the French crowd loved it.

Gasquet  dispatched every ball which landed to his left like a ringmaster cracking his whip. Each backhand seemed to speed like a tracer bullet low and true over the net and into the corners. The fans on Chatrier roared, stood to applaud and feted his 6-1 first set with a Mexican wave which did three laps of the stands and lasted for the whole changeover. The "Mozart of French tennis" as he is often known here – the child prodigy destined for greatness ever since he appeared on the cover of a sports magazine at the tender age of nine – was finally coming of age.Or so we thought. The second set settled into more of a conventional rhythm and Murray even got his nose in front, only for Gasquet to break back, amid more roaring, standing and waving. But then Mozart tried an audacious arpeggio which turned into a bum note. At 4-5 advantage Murray, Gasquet attempted to find the outside of the box with a second service. The crowd groaned as it failed to clip the white line and Murray was handed the second set.Never one to look a gift horse in the mouth, the Scotsman set about converting this unexpected slice of fortune into hard currency. And while Gasquet tried desperately to conjure up the magic of the first set, Murray picked his spots and dismantled an opponent who, rather than consolidating, decided unwisely to chase the game.For the neutral it was a great spectacle. There were more drop shots than we had seen in this part of Paris since Justine Henin hung up her racquet, and Murray began to showcase the art of the two-handed backhand which, while less aesthetic than its one-handed cousin, is every bit as effective. When Gasquet smashed, Murray retrieved. When he sliced, Murray hared in and outdropped him. And when he missed, Murray pounced.

The third and fourth sets were as one-sided as the first as Murray parlayed his greater experience into the kind of win that would have eluded him earlier in his career. Gasquet saved two match points to the delight of the crowd, but it was delaying the inevitable. And speaking of inevitable, the Frenchman will once again face an inquest into his big-match temperament.Murray meanwhile moves on to the quarter-finals to face David Ferrer, an altogether different animal and one who loves clay with a passion bordering on obsession. The Scotsman's coach Ivan Lendl, seen nodding sagely throughout the contest today, will be pleased with his new charge's performance but is well aware that he will have to raise his game a notch or two if his Grand Slam duck is to be broken here in Paris.

Rafael Nadal’s 6-2, 6-0, 6-0 win over Juan Monaco was that it somehow took one hour and 46 minutes to compile. Still, credit where it’s due; at one stage the Argentinean was actually ahead in the match, albeit at 2-1 in the first set. It was the next 17 games that Monaco will need to forget, as Nadal took him apart, displaying terrifying form. The result bears testament to the Spaniard’s lethal potency at Roland Garros – but even allowing for that, the scoreline was embarrassing alongside the name of any player seeded 13 in a Slam tournament.On a really cold afternoon on Suzanne Lenglen court, it was not as if Monaco was frozen with fear. In the first set he actually really gave the impossible task a go, doing his best to provide some kind of creative challenge to the perennial tournament favourite. He had two break points (albeit unconverted), did not make significantly more unforced errors than his opponent, and his first serve percentage was way better than Nadal's at 86% to 66%, Yet he could make no headway. By the middle of the second set, Monaco's stock of ideas had run dry. Nadal, meanwhile, was simply stunning. Hitting the lines as if the ball was drawn there on a wire every time, he has only dropped 19 games in four matches. He will play his compatriot Nicolas Almagro in the last eight.Nadal was almost regretful after the match, quick to reassure his friend Monaco: "In my opinion, he was unlucky, unlucky in the first set.  That's my feeling, no?  6‑2 was too much. Later, sure, very happy the way I played.  I feel very, very sorry for him.  I think he's playing probably the best tennis of his career, but probably not today after, especially the last set, no, when he start to miss, you know.  I saw him a little bit, you know, suffering a little bit on court at the end. He's one of my best friends on tour.  I feel very sorry for him."

David Ferrer continued his charge through the men’s draw with another efficient display to win through to the last eight. Today’s casualty was his Davis Cup team-mate Marcel Granollers, seeded No.20 here. For the fourth time in as many outings at Roland Garros 2012, Ferrer was never in anything you could seriously call trouble. He won 6-3, 6-2, 6-0 in an hour and 51 minutes, to equal his best career display at Roland Garros.Granollers too has had a good tournament, with this fourth round appearance his best Slam performance to date. But on a frankly chilly Philippe Chatrier court, he became the latest contender to fall victim to Ferrer’s trick of making his opponents play badly, a skill noted by Mats Wilander. The seven-time Slam winner (including three on the Parisian clay) says Ferrer’s expertise is so subtle that he leaves opponents puzzled as to exactly how he wins so many matches. But Wilander made it plain he would be delighted if Ferrer can capture a Slam title because it would be a triumph of dedication.Certainly many here see Ferrer as a worthier member of the Big Four than his potential quarter-final opponent Andy Murray. But whether he can translate that into an actual Slam victory, particularly this year, is harder to see. Nonetheless, this fourth-round outing was right up his street, as he took his opponent to multiple deuces in Granollers’ opening service game. It was only a matter of time before the defences crumbled. At 3-2 Ferrer brought up his third break point of the game by outfoxing Granollers with a drop shot followed by a perfect ball down the line (not the last time he would use that combination to crushing effect). Granollers, who is just the sixth-ranked Spaniard here despite his seeding, double faulted and it was 2-4. Aside from one thoroughly atypical love game, he always looked vulnerable on service.Granollers did however manage to carve out two chances. Ferrer was serving for the set and unexpectedly put the ball wide for break point. A 23-stroke rally forced Granollers further and further into a defensive corner and left him nowhere to go. Then Ferrer sent the ball long again, and another long rally drew a further error from Granollers. That was the nearest Ferrer came to a crisis, even though it was a set where he made more errors than Granollers. Crucially Ferrer produced even more winners, and he served it out 6-3 in 44 minutes.The second set opened with a 13-minute game as Ferrer cemented his advantage. He brought up his fourth break point with a backhand volley, and converted with a wrong-footing forehand. At 0-2 it was raining on Granollers’ parade and also on Chatrier, although play continued. At 3-1 Ferrer forced the pace once more, racing to the net to reach a seemingly perfect drop shot and send it down the line to move clear at 4-1. Granollers had little left to give and captured just one more game before the match was done.Commented Ferrer after the win: "It's a series of reasons why I have reached quarterfinals, why this year is my best performance at Roland Garros. It's true that in the past three or four ‑ well, four matches ‑ I felt really comfortable.  I felt really at ease.  I think I have to continue this way. Next match I will be playing will probably be a difficult match to play, but I'll have to continue and be positive.  I should try and reach semifinals.  I've never managed to go beyond the level of quarterfinals. I managed at the US Open but never on clay, so I will have to continue and make even more effort."

Nicolas Almagro, meanwhile, continued his incredible run that began in the first round of the Nice Open. Since that match, the Spanish no.12 seed has yet to drop a set, winning the tournament in the south of France and racing into the quarter-finals here. Almagro's latest victim was Janko Tipsarevic, no less, the no.8 seed from Serbia. Tipsarevic was outplayed in every part of the game by the Spaniard who must be starting to feel invincible, such is his form. The clay-court specialist is about to find out, as he faces the winner of the Juan Monaco-Rafael Nadal match this afternoon.Almagro was understandably delighted to reach the last eight: "Yes, of course I'm very happy.  I think I played great tennis today.  The day was a little bit cloudy, but now it's really sunny for me.  (Smiling.) Now that win is one of the best moments of my career, and I want to enjoy and I'm very happy with my tennis."

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga was a mightily relieved man when he converted his second match point on Stanislav Wawrinska's serve to win 6-4, 7-6(6), 3-6, 3-6, 6-4. The French fifth seed had come into the match carried over from last night with a 4-2 lead and lost the first game to relinquish his precious break. The Swiss then drew level at 4-4 and a potentially tight, drawn-out conclusion looked likely. No doubt annoyed at letting his lead slip, Tsonga had other ideas, running around his forehand to smash winners in the next two games and grasp victory from the valiant Wawrinka. Providing he makes full use of that devastating forehand in tomorrow's quarter-final, the Frenchman must have a (small) chance. Especially if Djokovic starts as sluggishly as he did against Andreas Seppi in the last round...Juan Martin Del Potro took up where he left off last night, carving out a 7-6(6), 1-6, 6-3, 7-5 win over Tomas Berdych by taking the fourth set he required. Leading two sets to one overnight, the Argentinean no.9 seed broke to lead 2-0, only to relinquish that break in the seventh game. Del Potro looked the more dangerous throughout though, and after he raced into a 0-40 lead in the 12th game he clinched his place in the quarter-final on his first match point when Berdych hit long.

Del Potro was bothered by his heavily strapped knee in the early rounds, but gave no sign of discomfort either yesterday or today. His groundstrokes have been wreaking havoc and Roger Federer will need to bring his A-game against the former US Open champion in the quarter-final. Since missing nearly all of 2010 with a wrist injury, tennis fans have been waiting for the giant South American to get back to his devastating best. He is not there yet, but there are growing signs that the Del Potro of old is back, and the 'Big Four' may become a 'Big Five' on this evidence.Looking forward to his quarter-final with Roger Federer, Del Potro was upbeat: "I (need to) play an unbelievable match, try to take my opportunities, serve 100%, trying to play winners with my forehand, with my backhand, and put him to raise his game.  I don't like to run too much, so I will try to be more aggressive than his game and looking at unbelievable shots."

Pakistan wins against Sri Lanka in 2nd T20 and level the series

Shahid Afridi scored a half-century and picked up two wickets in Pakistan's series-levelling win in Hambantota.

Pakistan wins against Sri Lanka by 23 runs to level the two-match Twenty20 series by 1-1 in the second game at the Mahinda Rajapaksa International Cricket Stadium, Sooriyawewa in Hambantota on Sunday.Chasing a modest total of 123 runs to win, Sri Lanka could manage only 99 all-out off 19.2 overs.Yasir Arafat and Mohammad Sami bagged three wickets each while all-rounder Shahid Afridi claimed two for 17.An inspired Sri Lanka bowling attack restricted Pakistan to a modest total of 122 for six despite Shahid Afridi’s half-century in their second and final Twenty20 international.Afridi's 33-ball unbeaten 52, which included one six and five boundaries, was the only bright spot for the Pakistan side in their must-win match.Pakistan captain Mohammad Hafeez’s decision to bat first after winning the toss backfired as his side made a poor start.Ahmed Shehzad fell to Nuwan Kulasekara for six in the third over of the innings, and youngster Khalid Latif was run out for one as Pakistan slipped to 18 for two in the fifth over.The tourists suffered another serious blow when their star batsman Umar Akmal was trapped in front of the wickets by Kaushal Lokuarachchi in the 10^th over, which left them reeling at 29 for three.From the other hand, Hafeez tried to provide his side some momentum with a 34-ball 24, studded with three boundaries, but his innings came to an end in the 11^th over by Lokuarachchi.Senior batsman Afridi and Shoaib Malik then joined forces to bail their side out of trouble and added 68 runs for the fifth wicket. But a disciplined Sri Lanka bowling attack kept the Pakistan batsmen in check and didn’t allow them to free their arms.Nuwan Kulasekara impressed with the figures impress, while Lokuarachchi finished with 2 for 31.