Wawrinka, Muguruza win at Roland Garros

PARIS: Defending champion Stan Wawrinka beat Viktor Troicki in four sets to reach the last eight of the French Open on Sunday.

The Swiss third seed won 7-6, (7-5), 6-7, (7-9), 6-3, 6-2 and will face Albert Ramos-Vinolas in the quarter-finals after the Spaniard knocked out eighth seed Milos Raonic 6-2, 6-4, 6-4.

Fourth seed Garbine Muguruza progressed with a 6-3, 6-4 win against Russia’s 2009 champion Svetlana Kuznetsova.

The 22-year-old Spaniard will face American Shelby Rogers next.

Rogers, ranked 108th in the world, reached her first Grand Slam quarter-final by beating Romanian 24th seed Irina-Camelia Begu 6-3, 6-4.

Rogers is he ninth woman outside of the top 100 to make the last eight in Paris since 1983.

“It’s incredible and I’m really happy that it didn’t start raining,” said Rogers who broke down in tears after the match.

“I always dreamed of this when I was a little girl in Charleston but never really thought I would reach the quarter-finals in Paris.”

Rogers has now beaten three seeds in her run at Roland Garros having seen off 17th seed Karolina Pliskova in the first round and 10th seed Petra Kvitova in the last 32.

Ramos-Vinolas’ win ensures at least one Spaniard will play in the men’s quarter-finals at Roland-Garros for the 20th year running.

The 28-year-old left-hander, who has never been past the second round in 18 appearances in the four majors, broke Raonic five times and only lost serve once.

“I have no words to explain how I feel,” said the world number 55. “It was four years in a row losing in the first round.”

Meanwhile, With Rafael Nadal out of the picture this year, Garbine Muguruza, who beat Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-3, 6-4 to reach the last eight at Roland Garros on Sunday, is probably the best chance of a Spanish triumph at the French Open.

The fourth seed moved into the quarter-finals for the third year in a row with a solid display as she looks to become the first Spanish woman to lift the Suzanne Lenglen Cup since Arantxa Sanchez Vicario in 1998.

Hard hitter Muguruza, who has yet to make it to the last four in Paris, left little breathing space for the Russian 13th seed, the 2009 Roland Garros champion, in a style different to that of Sanchez Vicario, a pure claycourt specialist.

“I know maybe now I’m more a favourite, but I could have lost two days ago,” Muguruza told reporters.

The Wimbledon runner-up believes she is now better equipped to go a step further.

“I think the one thing that I have really improved is not just one type of shot. It’s me, generally speaking. It’s me — it’s the way I prepare matches,” she said.

“I think I have more experience. When I win I analyse why. When I lose I analyse why. And therefore, I have become a better player, generally speaking.

“It’s not that I have improved my forehand or anything specific.”

Muguruza peppered the court with winners — which made up for numerous unforced errors — and broke decisively on her seventh opportunity to lead 5-3 in the opening set.

She closed it out with a booming forehand winner and broke again in the third game of the second set with a service return winner.

Kuznetsova saw a lifeline when she broke back to 4-4 as Muguruza started to get inconsistent, only for the Spaniard to break again in the following game with a fine passing shot.

Muguruza, however, showed signs of nerves and wasted two match points before serving a double fault.

She regained her composure, though, and wrapped it up on her fifth match point when Kuznetsova’s backhand sailed long.