Stan Wawrinka reached the quarter-finals at Roland Garros for the third time on Sunday. But the World No. 4 did achieve a first in Paris: Playing with a ball kid during the middle of the match.

Wawrinka was looking to stay warm while waiting for Serbian Viktor Troicki to finish receiving treatment from a trainer. His legs were bouncing as he sat impatiently. So he looked behind him to the ball boy.

“I asked him if he was playing tennis. I said, ‘Okay, let’s play’,” Wawrinka said.

The smiling Swiss grabbed a racquet for himself and one for his new hitting partner. To roars from the fans at Philippe Chatrier Court, Wawrinka hit with the left-hander for about a minute.

“He wasn’t afraid to be on the central court. He was a nice kid,” Wawrinka said.

The defending Roland Garros champion and ball boy then shook hands at the net, and Wawrinka got his racquet back. By then, Troicki was ready to play. “I thought it was nice. It was nice for him. It was fun for the audience, and it kept me busy,” Wawrinka said.

Maybe it helped the third seed, too. He went on to defeat Troicki 7-6(5), 6-7(7), 6-3, 6-2 and move into the quarter-finals.

“I was a little bit bored, I was talking to the ball kid. I asked him if he played tennis. I said, ok, let’s play.” pic.twitter.com/oT7ZqsW8ut

— Roland Garros (@rolandgarros) May 29, 2016

A LOOK BACK

Citta’ Di Vicenza (Vicenza, Italy): Guido Andreozzi of Argentina picked up his second ATP Challenger Tour title of the year by defeating Pere Riba of Spain in the final. The Spaniard was forced to retire with a lower back injury after Andreozzi won the first set 6-0. Andreozzi also prevailed this February at the $50,000 event in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.

Despite the unfortunate end, this was still Riba’s best week of the year. He arrived in Vicenza having not won a main draw match on the ATP Challenger Tour in 2016.

A LOOK AHEAD

Three Challengers are on the calendar this week, with the illustrious $125,000+H event in Prostejov, Czech Republic, taking top billing. Past champions include former Top 10 players Radek Stepanek, Guillermo Coria and Karol Kucera. All eight seeds are ranked inside the Top 100 of the Emirates ATP Rankings, with world No. 50 Ricardas Berankis of Lithuania holding the No. 1 seed and World No. 59 Lukas Rosol of the Czech Republic taking the No. 2 seed. Local favourite Jiri Vesely is the No. 3 seed and Inigo Cervantes of Spain is the No. 4 seed.

Other notable names in the draw include former World No. 8 Janko Tipsarevic of Serbia, as well as #NextGen stars Karen Khachanov of Russia and Elias Ymer of Sweden. Several ATP Challenger Tour winners this year are also in the draw, including Gastao Elias of Portugal. Andreozzi looks to continue his win streak after Vicenza when he plays No. 5 seed Damir Dzumhur of Bosnia in the opening round.

The popular $50,000+H tournament in Furth, Germany, reaches a notable milestone as it celebrates its 30^th year. Three players ranked inside the Top 100 of the Emirates ATP Rankings are in the draw, with world No. 72 Malek Jaziri of Tunisia as the No. 1 seed, World No. 93 Taro Daniel of Japan taking the No. 2 seed and No. 3 seed Albert Montanes of Spain holding the No. 3 seed. Thomas Fabbiano of Italy, a winner this March in Shenzhen, China, is the No. 6 seed, while Jozef Kovalik, a winner this April in Napoli, Italy is the No. 8 seed. Another notable name in the draw is Gerard Melzer of Austria, who has won three ATP Challenger Tour titles this year.

Lastly, the grass season kicks off with the $50,000 event in Manchester, England, which returns for the 17^th year. Seven of the eight seeds are in the Top 100 of the Emirates ATP Rankings, with Americans Denis Kudla and Rajeev Ram taking the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds, respectively. Local favourite Daniel Evans, a winner of two ATP Challenger Tour events this year is the No. 3 seed. Several other ATP Challenger Tour title winners this year are in the draw, including No. 8 seed Bjorn Fratangelo of the U.S., (Savannah) Mischa Zverev of Germany (Sarasota), Konstantin Kravchuk of Russia (Busan) and James Duckworth of Australia (Bangkok).

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ATP CHALLENGER TOUR ON TWITTER: New in 2016, the ATP Challenger Tour has launched a dedicated Twitter account for the latest news and information about players and events. Follow @ATPChallengerTour at twitter.com/ATPChallengerTour.

Two-time former champions and fifth seeds Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan saved one match point on Sunday to reach the Roland Garros quarter-finals.

The Bryans saved the match point at 5/6 in the second-set tie-break en route to beating No. 12 seeds Radek Stepanek and Nenad Zimonjic 4-6, 7-6(6), 6-3 in Paris. The Bryans failed to convert three set point opportunities at 6-5 in the second set.

The 2003 and 2013 titlists will now look to improve their 63-15 record at Roland Garros against No. 16 seeds Marcin Matkowski and Leander Paes, who beat this year’s Australian Open champions Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares 7-6(5), 7-6(4) in one hour and 43 minutes.

Sixth seeds Rohan Bopanna and Florin Mergea knocked out Brian Baker and Marcus Daniell 6-2, 6-7(4), 6-1, while 2014 champions Julien Benneteau and Edouard Roger-Vasselin overcame Treat Huey and Max Mirnyi 6-4, 6-4. Pablo Cuevas and Marcel Granollers will face ninth seed Lukasz Kubot and Alexander Peya after a 7-6(3), 6-4 victory over Daniel Nestor and Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi.

Home, sweet home, at last.

For the first time in 13 tries, Richard Gasquet has reached the quarter-finals at Roland Garros, the Frenchman’s home Grand Slam. The 29 year old upset fifth seed Kei Nishikori 6-4, 6-2, 4-6, 6-2 on Sunday to reach the final eight in Paris.

“[It was a] great match for me to win [against] the No. 6 in the world on central court in Paris,” Gasquet said. “I took a lot of confidence after winning that [first] set. I played much better in the second set, and also with the crowd cheering for me, it was a great moment.”

Gasquet had lost in the fourth round at Roland Garros four times previously (2011, 2012, 2013 and 2015). The ninth seed also had never taken a set off of Nishikori on clay, having lost in straight sets to to the Japanese twice earlier this month (Madrid, Rome).

But Gasquet owned a 6-2 advantage in their overall FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry. With the French crowd behind him and his picturesque one-handed backhand firing, Gasquet achieved personal history by playing more aggressive from the baseline.

“I knew if I want to win [against] this guy, I need to play very, very deep and very fast… If I’m playing short like I did in Rome and Madrid, I have no chance to win,” Gasquet said. “You also need to be able to whack the ball from the baseline, and that’s what I tried to do.”

He fell behind 2-4 before a 50-minute rain delay. When play resumed, though, Gasquet took over, winning 10 of the next 12 games to gain a two-set lead. Nishikori rebounded in the third, breaking Gasquet to force a fourth set.

But the Frenchman, wearing the blue, white and red of the French flag, broke Nishikori twice in the fourth and held at love to advance. Gasquet will face second seed Andy Murray in the quarter-finals. The Scot leads their FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry 7-3, including their past five meetings. “It’s always important to have the crowd cheering for you, as they did it on the court, and I admit it made a big difference for me,” Gasquet said. “Of course it will be the same on Tuesday, but for sure I need to play a big match to win [against] Andy.”

Nishikori was trying to reach the final eight for the second consecutive year and match his best showing in Paris. Had he won, he would have become the second Japanese man to reach multiple quarter-finals at Roland Garros (Jiri Sato, 1931, 1933). “It was heavy [conditions], and I couldn’t really dictate with my forehand or backhand,” Nishikori said. “I think he played good tennis… I have to give him credit.”

Andy Murray booked his spot in the Roland Garros quarter-finals for a third consecutive year, downing John Isner 7-6(9), 6-4, 6-3 on Sunday.

Second seed Murray, who now owns a 6-0 FedEx ATP Head2Head edge over his American opponent, advanced to the last eight at the clay-court Grand Slam for the sixth time. It is the most quarters reached by a British man in Roland Garros history.

“I’m pumped to be in the quarters of a slam,” said Murray, who will face home hope Richard Gasquet next. “Obviously the atmosphere will be tough, but I don’t mind that. I played a number of times against French players here in difficult atmospheres and I managed okay.”

Four of the previous six encounters between Murray and Isner had opened with a first-set tie-break, and the script would hold true to form on Sunday. Isner, who failed to convert on two break chances earlier in the set, battled back after conceding an immediate mini-break. He had a set point on his racquet at 6/5 after inducing an error off a Murray second serve, but the American left his approach shot short as he darted to the net to close out the opener. Murray slipped a backhand down the line for a sublime winner and the momentum shifted. Two more set points were saved by the Scot, who eventually converted the second of his own, pulling Isner out wide to the ad court and drawing an error to clinch the tie-break 11-9.

“I think it could have been a little bit different if I won that set,” said Isner. “I had it on my racquet serving at 6/5. I had a short forehand, too, and didn’t do anything with it. I hit it right back to him and he passed me up the line, because he’s No. 2 in the world, and that’s what he does. I didn’t take advantage of that opportunity right there… I think I went with option D there. A, B, and C would have been better.” 

“The first set was key,” said Murray. “I didn’t have any chances until the tiebreak. I was a bit lucky on the 6/5 point. He had a great serve and I guessed the right way on his approach shot. That point was very important, for sure. And then after that I was starting to create a lot more chances on the return games. Most games I felt like I was having opportunities and wasn’t giving him any chances on my serve.” 

The skies opened at 1-1 in the second set and a 50-minute rain delay would ensue. But Murray would not be rattled, eventually taking a two-set lead with a late break in the 10th game. In favourable heavy conditions, the World No. 2 took his first set point, chasing down an Isner drop shot and firing a volley into the open court. He continued to apply pressure on the 6’10” right-hander in the third set, breaking for 3-1 when an Isner drop shot found the net. Murray turned aside a break chance when serving for the match in the ninth game, emerging victorious after just under three hours. He withstood 18 aces from the big-serving American and saved all five break points faced. Murray has denied a combined 31 of 32 break chances in six encounters against Isner.

“The conditions were certainly slower and that would benefit me against someone that serves as well as John,” added Murray. “I think when we came back out after the rain delay, the balls were getting heavy very quick. The beginning of the match it was fairly slow because there hadn’t been any rain during the day. The balls weren’t getting that heavy when we were going to the back of the courts and the covers. When we came back out the balls were extremely slow, so I was able to return a lot more serves, get a lot more in the service games, extend the rallies, and that’s where I was able to dictate most of the points.” 

Murray extended his winning streak to nine matches after lifting the trophy at the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event in Rome two weeks ago (d. Djokovic). He completed a pair of five-set wins to open the fortnight, including his ninth career 0-2 comeback over Radek Stepanek in the first round.

Isner, meanwhile, was seeking to become the first American to reach the quarter-finals on the terre battue since Andre Agassi in 2003. American men are now 0-7 in the fourth round in the past 13 years.

“I do think I did turn a corner on my season this week, considering how I was down and out in my first-round match,” Isner added. “So I’m leaving this tournament with positive feelings going forward in my year here in 2016.

“It’s not going to be a somber ride back to the States for me, whereas a lot of times this year I have left the tournament with a very bad taste in my mouth. It’s not so much that this week.”

Milos Raonic turned his focus to the grass-court swing and a three-week partnership with John McEnroe on Sunday following a fourth-round exit at Roland Garros.

The Canadian, who currently works with Carlos Moya and Riccardo Piatti, explained the reason why former World No. 1 McEnroe has agreed to join his team as a consultant.

“I was sort of just looking for another set of eyes to be a bit more efficient on grass, and I think people are seeing it as just for grass,” said Raonic, after he lost to Albert Ramos-Vinolas in Paris. “It’s about generally improving. I want to improve coming forward and I want to improve putting more pressure on my opponents.

“I feel like I was a lot more efficient at the beginning of the year coming forward, and it’s something that I would like to put a lot of attention to. It just works out with grass that’s probably the thing that will benefit me the most. Now, in the three weeks leading to Wimbledon, we are going to work, and really put some attention to that.

“[There are] other parts of my game that I can do a bit differently to be better, and it’s not by any means just with the intention of Wimbledon. It’s about generally improving.”

McEnroe, who now works as a television commentator and is a part of the ATP Champions Tour, spent 170 weeks at No. 1 in the Emirates ATP Rankings.

“It’s a great honour and there’s a lot I want to achieve,” said 25-year-old Raonic. “I’m maybe far from it today, but I feel like I’m a lot closer and I’m going to try to do everything I can to sort of maximise giving myself the opportunity to achieve those goals.

“At the end of the day of the day, every coach I have is to some extent an adviser, and it is my job personally, out of everything I hear, to weigh what it’s worth and weigh what is best for me. I’m the CEO of the Milos Raonic Tennis. That’s it… I know everybody I have around me wants to help me to the fullest.

“It’s not a focus for just Wimbledon. It’s John coming along to help me improve in general.”

Raonic reached the 2014 Wimbledon semi-finals and has an 8-9 record in ATP World Tour finals (all on hard courts). The World No. 9 will next compete at the Aegon Championships in London.

Viktor Troicki has evened his fourth-round match against third seed Stan Wawrinka on Sunday at Roland Garros 6-7(5), 7-6(9). After losing the first-set tie-break, the Serbian clinched the second set tie-break on his fifth set point.

The opening sets have been near opposites. Neither player lost his serve during the first set. Wawrinka never even faced a break point. But in the second, both players earned two breaks of serve in the back-and-forth contest.

Troicki, No. 24 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, is looking to reach his first Grand Slam quarter-final. He’s reached the fourth round of a Grand Slam four times, including twice at Roland Garros (2011 l. to Murray, 2013 l. to Tsonga) but has never reached the final eight.

Wawrinka, the defending Roland Garros champion, is looking to win his eighth match in a row and reach the quarter-finals for the second consecutive year.