Day 9 at the French Open, Addendum

The last Frenchman standing beat the last American standing. Gael Monfils had a surprisingly easy match against American, Andy Roddick. They played the late match as light was fading and Roddick was hoping that they would call play due to darkness.

It didn't happen. Instead, Monfils, surrounded by the cheers of jubilant Parisians hoping for the next Frenchman to win Roland Garros since Yannick Noah claimed the title from Mats Wilander in 1983.

Final score: 6-2, 6-2, 6-3.

It was hoped that the talented Jo-Wilfried Tsonga could beat the talented Argentian, Juan Martin del Potro. They had met only twice before but del Potro had been the victor twice. He was again the winner: 6-1, 6-7 (5), 6-1, 6-4.

With the loss of Nadal and Verdasco, the last Spaniard standing is Tommy Robredo. He beat German Philipp Kohlschreiber: 6-4, 5-7, 7-6 (4), 6-2. Robredo had never lost to Kohlschreiber in 3 meetings, including twice on clay, even as recently as this year at Rome.

The quarterfinalists have the distinction of coming from different countries. Federer from Switzerland, Monfils from France, del Potro from Argentina, Robredo from Spain, Davydenko from Russia, Soderling from Sweden, and Gonzalez from Chile.

Tomorrow, Murray plays Gonzalez. This is brain vs. the beast. If Gonzalez plays on, he can overpower almost anyone not named Nadal or Federer. However, Murray is one of the smartest players on tour, and he's always played Gonzalez tough. They've split two meetings, but never played each other on clay. Gonzalez ought to be favored, but Murray continues to confound doubters, managing wins on clay when it doesn't appear like he's ready to master the dirt.

In the other quarterfinals, Swedish hero, Robin Soderling faces off against the resurgent Nikolay Davydenko. Although Davydenko looked solid beating Verdasco, Soderling has a 3-2 head-to-head lead over Davydenko, including two wins on clay. Although it's fashionable to pick Davydenko for the win. Soderling should feel confident playing Davydenko on clay. Of all the people Soderling would want to play that's left in the field, Davydenko would probably rate quite high. Much will depend on how well Soderling serves.

Day 10 tomorrow. Be there!