Original Blog Entry: Murray ousted in fourth round

NBey6 — Mon, 31 May 2010 07:01:57 GMT

Sunday, May 30, 2010

Murray ousted in fourth round

ESPN.com news services

PARIS -- Fourth-seeded Andy Murray of Britain was beaten Sunday in the fourth round of the French Open, losing 6-4, 7-5, 6-3 to Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic.

Murray, a quarterfinalist at Roland Garros last year when he posted his best result at the clay-court Grand Slam, struggled on his first serve and was broken five times Sunday.

It was just slow, wet, damp conditions, Murray said. It's exactly the same for the both of us. ... It's just tough conditions to play in, and he played better than me.

Defending champion Roger Federer reached the quarterfinals with his fourth consecutive straight-set victory.

The top-ranked Federer beat his pal, protege and 2008 Olympic gold medalist doubles partner Stanislas Wawrinka 6-3, 7-6 (5), 6-2.

Berdych has never been so far in the tournament before and will next face 11th-seeded Mikhail Youzhny of Russia, who advanced when No. 8 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga retired with a hip injury trailing 6-2.

Federer will next play No. 5-seeded Robin Soderling in a rematch of last year's final. Soderling advanced by beating No. 10 Marin Cilic 6-4, 6-4, 6-2.

Soderling hasn't beat Federer on any surface, in any tournament, going 0-12 against the man who owns a record 16 Grand Slam titles.

Obviously, that's a good record to have, Federer noted.

Their last three matchups came at major championships, including Federer's victory over Soderling in the 2009 French Open final.

Their 13th meeting is scheduled for Tuesday's quarterfinals at Roland Garros, after both men won in straight sets Sunday.

Federer only briefly faced a bit of trouble against Wawrinka, getting broken in the second set and falling behind 4-2. But he broke back to 4-4 and then, at 5-all in the tiebreaker, Wawrinka missed an easy volley, giving Federer a set point.

Federer converted that with a service winner, and Wawrinka mangled his racket by smashing it on the court three times.

The rest wasn't very competitive, and Federer has yet to drop a set in the tournament. Now, if he can beat Soderling again, Federer will extend his record by reaching the semifinals at a 24th straight Grand Slam event.

He's the best player in the world, Soderling said. But even against him, you will always get a few chances. Then you have to take them, because he won't give you any second opportunities. You really have to play well in the important points, which he does so well. And that's why he's so good.

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