• French Open, Day Nine: Plays of the Day

Youzhny's 'smashing' time and happy birthday Rafa

Youzhny's smashing time

It's fair to say Mikhail Youzhny did not make the best of starts in his clash with Tommy Haas. He lost the first set 6-1 and was 3-0 down in the second, when the pot boiled over. And his racket bore the brunt of his anger. Having lost nine of the first ten games, Youzhny had nine swishes of his racket - into his chair. Graphite is pretty strong, but sadly not strong enough to withstand an assault on a chair. The temper tantrum did not aid him overly much, as he lost the next game and was crushed 6-1 6-1 6-3.

Azarenka turns on the style

The backhand smash is probably the toughest shot in the book, but Victoria Azarenka showed it holds no terrors for her. In the seventh game, she advanced to the net only to see Francesca Schiavone play a superb lob. Azarenka had to readjust and jump high to get her racket on the ball. It would have been tough on the forehand wing, so it was even tougher on the backhand side. Still she made superb contact and put the ball away for a clean winner.

Putting the Champagne on ice

Philipp Kohlschreiber was ultimately beaten in four sets, but he emerged from his clash with No. 1 seed Novak Djokovic with tremendous credit. He was the better player in the first set and had chances in the second and third. The fourth set saw Djokovic raise his level but Kohlschreiber delayed the victory party with a brilliant effort at match point. On his own serve, Djokovic was in command of the point and he advanced behind a short ball and looked poised to go in for the kill only for Kohlschreiber to scamper deep into his backhand corner, flick the ball low crosscourt for a winner. Djokovic's win came one point later, but Kohlschreiber won himself plenty of fans.

Rafael Nadal with his birthday cake © Getty Images

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Happy birthday to you

Birthday boy Rafael Nadal and Maria Sharapova cruised into the quarter-finals with both choosing day nine to put in their best performances of the 2013 French Open. Neither really needed to get out of second gear as they eased through to set up last-eight matches with Stanislas Wawrinka and Jelena Jankovic respectively. After Nadal's win, French Open officials presented the Spaniard with a huge cake while the Court Philippe Chatrier crowd sang Happy Birthday to the king of clay. Was he flattered or embarrassed? You decide.

Heartbreak for Gasquet

Home favourite Richard Gasquet had previously lost four times at grand slams when two sets to love in front. So you can understand why he wasn't getting too excited when taking a two-set lead against Stanislas Wawrinka. Struggling with a leg injury, Gasquet conceded the next two sets before bowing out in a match that lasted a little more than four hours. We don't mind, though. We love a five-set epic.

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