Shock exit for Nadal

World Number One, Rafael Nadal suffered his first ever defeat at the French Open in a shock 6-2, 6-7, 6-4, 7-6 defeat to Sweden’s Robin Soderling yesterday.



The Spaniard, chasing a fifth straight Roland Garros title, saw his 31-match unbeaten run in Paris come to an end in one of the biggest upsets in tennis history.



Britain’s Andy Murray produced another clinical display to beat Marin Cilic 7-5 7-6, 6-1 to reach the quarterfinals for the first time.



Murray will now play Fernando Gonzales in the last eight.



In the women’s draw, defending champion Ana Ivanovic of Serbia is also out. She lost her crown after a 6-2, 6-3 defeat by Victoria Azarenka.



Azarenka now meets top seed Dinara Safina, who dropped only her fifth game of the tournament in a 6-1, 6-0 thrashing of France’s Aravane Rezai.



Former World Number One Maria Sharapova of Russia beat Li Na of China 6-4, 0-6, 6-4 and next faces Domiika Cibulkoya.