• French Open, Day Seven: What They Said

What They Said: Nadal wants improvement, Janko sorry

Rafael Nadal says he needs to improve his performance even after a straight sets win over Fabio Fognini © AP

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Rafael Nadal made it safely through the third round when seeing off a spirited Fabio Fognini in straight sets, although the Spaniard admitted that he will need to improve if he is to secure his eighth French Open crown. The world No. 4 faces Kei Nishikori in the last 16.

"If I want to have any chance, I really have to play better," Nadal said. "I played too short and with mistakes, without control of the point. But when you win without playing your best, you have the chance to play better.

"On Sunday I will have a day off for practice, to prepare well. To play more aggressive, I have to relax more and be less anxious in my movements. Kei is a big talented player. He's fantastic. I play with big respect against him."

Janko Tipsarevic issued an apology over his frustrationswith certain fans in the Paris crowd. The number eight seed lost out to Mikhail Youzhny.

"I just snapped because you could really see they didn't really care what the score was or even who was playing," Tipsarevic said. "They just wanted to look nice and be at the French Open. They had no respect to the players in terms of being quiet or whatever.

"There's no excuse for my reaction. I should have talked to the referee first, but the referee told him to be quiet. Then one of the guys kept provoking me, screaming, 'Come on, Youzhny' before I tossed the ball."

Victoria Azarenka battled her service demons, Alize Cornet and the French crowd in her three-set win but she was not fazed by being the one the fans were against on Philippe Chatrier.

"I am not French so this is expected," Azarenka said. "But it is great to be in front of a great crowd on a centre court. It motivated me every time I play and I have so much pleasure to play and I can't wait to get back out here again.

"I don't think I was playing the right way to take my chances in the first set. She definitely took advantage of that. It didn't go my way. I felt I was playing very comfortable for her. So I changed that and that's what brought me victory in the end. I left my serve at home. But if I can win serving like this, it's pretty remarkable."

Maria Sharapova overcame Jie Zheng to book a meeting with Sloane Stephens and the No. 2 seed is expecting a tough test against the American youngster.

"She is playing extremely well, she got to the semi-finals of the Australian Open," Sharapova said. "She is playing well, is now in the fourth round of the French Open and it is an opportunity to get to the quarter-finals so I am sure it will be a tough match."

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