French Open: Berdych ready for Djokovic, Murray and Wawrinka reach last four

Tomas Berdych will be the next man to try and deny Novak Djokovic a career grand slam after they booked quarter-final berths at the French Open on Wednesday.

Djokovic’s much-delayed fourth-round match with Roberto Bautista Agut finally finished after rain marred Tuesday’s play, the top seed wrapping up the set and a half he needed to progress.

Berdych is next in line for the Serbian, with first-time grand slam quarter-finalists David Goffin and Dominic Thiem completing the last-eight line-up.

While those four face back-to-back days on court to catch up with the schedule, Andy Murray and Stan Wawrinka will enjoy a rest day after booking a semi-final meeting.

Murray battled back against Richard Gasquet to progress 5-7 7-6 (7-3) 6-0 6-2, while defending champion Wawrinka cruised past Albert Ramos-Vinolas in straight sets.

BERDYCH READY FOR DJOKOVIC ENCOUNTER

Berdych may have only won twice in 25 meetings with Djokovic, but the Czech hopes his impressive form can continue after beating David Ferrer 6-3 7-5 6-3.

“Really I have nothing to lose. I’m playing well and I’m just going to try to stick with that,” he told a post-match media conference. “I’m going to try to, again, use my tennis as much as I can on the court and really just try to be the one who is dictating the ball.

“Then let’s see what’s going to happen and how it’s going to go.”

THIEM AND GOFFIN BREAK NEW GROUND

It was a momentous day for Thiem and Goffin as they moved into the last eight of a grand slam for the first time, and both men struggled to contain their excitement as they eye the semi-finals.

“It’s a real great thing,” said Thiem. “Like two years ago I was here with Ernests [Gulbis] and he played semi-finals, and back then I couldn’t really imagine that I’d go this far myself one day, and it’s already here like two years later and it feels really good.”

Meanwhile, Goffin added: “Total bliss. It was tough. I played a good match today when I was on the court, a good match. So it is happiness to win, to go to the quarter-finals for the first time, I’m going to enjoy it now.”

RAIN DELAYS ANGER FERRER

It was not such a good day for Ferrer, though, and the Spaniard launched a scathing attack on tournament organisers for the way they handled the rain delays over recent days.

He was not alone with Berdych, Djokovic and Gulbis also expressing their frustration at being made to play in poor conditions.

DJOKOVIC HOPING FOR RAIN-FREE FINISH

After his win over Bautista Agut, Djokovic hopes the remaining days of 2016’s second grand slam will be unaffected by further rain problems.

“That’s an ideal scenario right there [playing the quarters on Thursday, the semis on Friday and the final on Sunday],” he said.

“Let’s see, first of all, whether or not I can win my quarter-final and put myself in a position to play semis and maybe the final.”