Men's quarter-final predictions

Robin Soderling v Nikolay Davydenko

Robin Soderling
Ranked: 25
Previous best performance at Roland Garros: 3rd rd – 2008

Few shocks have hit Paris with as much force as the one caused by this gangly Swede as he registered the first ever defeat of Rafael Nadal on Roland Garros clay. Now he faces the always-hard task of putting such a sensational win behind him and encountering a far less charismatic but nevertheless still difficult opponent. His form leading up to the Nadal match was impressive with a couple of straight sets wins and then an impressive victory over two-time quarter-finalist David Ferrer. He’s beaten Davydenko in both their previous encounters on clay but the last meeting was more than two years ago.

Nikolay Davydenko
Ranked: 11
Previous best performance at Roland Garros: Semi final – 2005, 2007

The image is not one that provokes too much excitement but many are those who have underestimated the potential of this workaholic Russian and then paid the cost. A foot injury truncated his preparation for the French Open this year, causing him to pull out half way through the Madrid Masters and scratch from Kitzbuhel. However Stanislaus Wawrinka and Fernando Verdasco are both respected clay court players so he is unquestionably sufficiently fit to overcome quality. Even if Soderling hits as big as he did against Nadal this is just the man to repeatedly keep getting the ball back.

Prediction: Davydenko in four sets

Andy Murray v Fernando Gonzalez

Andy Murray
Ranked: 3
Previous best performance at Roland Garros: 3rd rd – 2008

With Nadal out of the picture, the draw now has an extremely enticing look for the British No 1. Not only is he the highest remaining seed but he came out on top against all three of the others left in the top half on the last occasion they played. Clay might be his least favourite surface but he has certainly come to terms with its vagaries because of his increased fitness and greater confidence. There have undeniably been a couple of blips against both Potito Starace and Janko Tipsarevic and a similar bad set against somebody of Gonzalez’s experience could be costly but as Murray himself says, the longer a tournament goes on the better the good players get.

Fernando Gonzalez
Ranked: 12
Previous best performance at Roland Garros: Quarter final 2003, 2008

Being a South American he grew up on clay so that should give him one distinct advantage over Murray but his big match record against the leading players has been suspect of late. Since taking the silver medal at the Beijing Olympics last August he has scored just one victory over a top ten player. However that was Verdasco in Barcelona on clay just a month ago. Nobody hits a forehand harder but Murray got under his skin over the course of five sets when they met in the third round of the US Open in 2006. The Chilean has yet to drop a set in the tournament so far and he is likely to make things far tougher for the British hope than any past opponent this fortnight.