French Open 2011 Results, Day 5: Maria Sharapova Avoids Upset; Mardy Fish Advances

French Open 2011 results from Day 5 at Roland Garros, which saw more than a few embarrassing upsets of top-seeded players.

• No. 4 Andy Murray def. Simone Bolelli, 7-6(3) 6-4 7-5.
And Andy Murray wasn’t one of them! Will wonders never cease? Despite a shaky first set, there was no movement in the men’s top five today. The unlucky Brit’s next opponent is Germany’s Michael Berrer.

• No. 7 Maria Sharapova def. Caroline Garcia, 3-6 6-4 6-0.
Of all the indignities. Not only did Maria Sharapova get taken to within a few bare games of an upset by a 17-year old unseeded upstart, but her outfit was terrible. Escape made, Sharapova’s on to Chan Yung-jan.

• Lukas Rosol def. No. 8 Jurgen Melzer, 6-7(4) 6-4 4-6 7-6(3) 6-4.
The second upset of the week in the men’s top ten did not go quietly. Easy to forget after Melzer’s run to the semis last year that he’d never made it past the third round before, and so far, not since. The 111th-ranked qualifier Rosol, of the Czech Republic, draws Argentina’s Juan Ignacio Chela next.

• No. 10 Mardy Fish def. Robin Haase, 7-6(1) 6-2 6-1.
U-S-A! U-S-A! Fish is the highest-seeded American playing at Roland Garros, and has never advanced past the second round in Paris in his 11-year pro career. His third-round opponent will be France’s own Gilles Simon, who’s played about 25 sets’ worth of tennis in his first two rounds.

• No. 5 Robin Söderling def. Albert Ramos, 6-3 6-4 6-4.
Seriously, who could have pegged The Dirty Swede showing up better prepared to play this tournament than Rafa? They’re on a collision course three matches from now, by the way, assuming nobody stumbles in the interim. Söderling draws Argentina’s Leonardo Mayer for Round 3.

• No. 4 Victoria Azarenka def. Pauline Parmentier, 6-0 6-1.
Well, now! Next: No. 30 Roberta Vinci of Italy.

• No. 6 Li Na def. Silvia Soler-Espinosa, 6-4 7-5.
There will be no rematch of the rollicking good times of the 2011 Australian Open, that Li-Clijsters bubble-off, but Li herself may be the favorite with her most recent finals foe knocked out and Sharapova openly struggling. She advances to face Romania’s Sorana Cirstea.

• Alejandro Falla def. No. 20 Florian Mayer, 4-6 7-6(4) 6-1 6-2.
The day’s second major upset in the men’s draw wasn’t even close after the first set, despite the close score of the second. Falla next faces the tourney’s other Upsetting Luke, Lukasz Kabot of Poland.

• Leonardo Mayer def. No. 27 Marcos Baghdatis, 7-5 6-4 7-6(6).
To cushion Mayer The Greater’s fall, we have Baghdatis, who just lost in straight sets to the world’s 217th-ranked player, in Mayer The Lesser’s second-ever appearance at Roland Garros.

• Antonio Veic def. No. 28 Nikolay Davydenko, 3-6 6-2 7-5 3-6 6-1.
Which, in itself, is not quite as ignominious as losing to the World No. 227, but at least wee Davydenko made a show of attempting to win.

In American news, Ivan Ljubicic knocked off No. 24 Sam Querrey, 7-6(2) 6-4 6-4. Jill Craybas lost to Chan Yung-Jan, 6-1 6-4. Standing victorious with Fish today is Vania King, who beat Elena Baltacha, 4-6 6-1 6-4.

Other seeded match results from Day 5 at Roland Garros:
• No. 15 Viktor Troicki def. Tobias Kamke, 6-2 6-2 7-6(4)
• No. 16 Fernando Verdasco def. Xavier Malisse, 4-6 6-3 7-6(5) 6-1.
• No. 18 Gilles Simon def. Jeremy Chardy, 4-6 6-4 6-1 6-4.
• No. 21 Alexandr Dolgopolov def. Andreas Haider-Maurer, 6-2 6-4 6-2.
• Juan Ingnacio Chela def. No. 32 Kevin Anderson, 3-6 6-3 6-4 4-6 6-2.

• No. 9 Petra Kvitova def. Zheng Jie, 6-4 6-1.
• No. 12 Agnieszka Radwanska def. Sania Mirza, 6-2 6-4.
• No. 15 Andrea Petkovic def. Lucie Hradecka, 7-6(2) 6-2.
• No. 16 Kaia Kanepi def. Heather Watson, 6-1 6-3.
• No. 21 Yanina Wickmayer def. Ayumi Morita, 6-4 7-5.
• No. 24 Jarmila Gajdosova def. Anabel Medina Garrigues, 7-6(4) 6-4.
• No. 25 Maria Kirilenko def. Chanelle Scheepers, 6-1 6-4.
• Sorana Cirstea def. No. 27 Alexandra Dulgheru, 6-2 7-5.
• No. 30 Roberta Vinci def. Iryna Bremond. 6-3 6-4.

Day 6 of the French Open 2011 begins play at 5 a.m. EDT Thursday.