French Open 2011, Day 6: Roger Federer, Vera Zvonareva Victorious; Novak Djokovic’s Advance Postponed

Less than two hours after Novak Djokovic and Juan Martin Del Potro’s French Open 2011 match began, play at Roland Garros has been suspended on account of darkness. The World No. 2 and No. 25 are tied at one set apiece, with Djokovic taking the first set 6-3 and Del Potro notching an identical second-set score.

In an inexplicable scheduling quirk, two high-profile men’s matches were scheduled back-to-back on Court Philippe Chatrier on Day 6, and when Jo-Wilfried Tsonga decided to stage the mère of all meltdowns and take his sweet time doing it, the match was shuffled to Court Suzanne Lenglen. Djokovic’s first-set win was a decisive one, but momentum now decidedly belongs to Del Potro, who took a set off his ranking superior despite tweaking an ankle late in the match. Play will resume Saturday afternoon.

Stanislas Wawrinka def. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, 4-6 6-7(3) 7-6(5) 6-2 6-3. The scoreboard tells the story of this hotly-contested match on Day 6 of the French Open 2011: After winning his first two matches in Paris in straight sets, the 17th-ranked Frenchman will not clinch a third straight fourth-round berth at Roland Garros.

In front of a highly partisan home crowd on Court Philippe Chatrier, Tsonga blasted out to a two-set lead over the 14th-ranked Wawrinka before coming completely unglued and staying that way for three more. By the end of the fifth he was visibly winded, sliding from side to side as though the clay court was unfamiliar terrain, and after being broken late and trading advantages back and forth (and forcing Novak Djokovic and Juan Martin Del Potro over to Court Suzanne Lenglen to get their match started), our favorite Star Trek-outfitted player is a goner.

French Open 2011 results from Day 6 at Roland Garros, where qualifiers are wrecking shop against seeded players.

• Gisela Dulko def. No. 8 Samantha Stosur, 6-4 1-6 6-3.

A trendy wildcard pick for an upset run to the finals, Stosur would’ve been a favorite in her quarter with the loss of Caroline Wozniacki. This marks the second trip to the fourth round for the 51st-ranked Dulko, where the Argentinian draws a formidable opponent in No. 11 Marion Bartoli.

One day after second-seeded Kim Clijsters’ second-round collapse knocked her out of the French Open 2011, the World No. 1 is out at Roland Garros: Caroline Wozniacki at least lost to a seeded player, but she did it in straight sets, falling 6-1 6-3 to No. 28 Daniela Hantuchova in morning third-round action on Court Suzanne Lenglen.

Wozniacki briefly flickered to life late in the second set, and appeared to be mounting a comeback of some sort after taking two consecutive games, but Hantuchova retained her calm and dispatched her superior with the composure you’d expect to see on the other side of the net. Tired of the narrative bashing Wozniacki’s seeding? Settle in for some more; the complaints about her No. 1 ranking aren’t going anywhere.

Roger Federer def. Janko Tipsarevic, 6-1 6-4 6-3. You won’t see many more lopsided matches between two seeded players at the French Open 2011, and it’s a mark of the upheaval at the top ranks of men’s tennis that the World No. 3 is an afterthought of sorts at Roland Garros. But while Rafael Nadal struggles to put away unranked opponents and Novak “I’m not left-handed either” Djokovic’s press hangers-on sing the praises of his new gluten-free lifestyle, over here is Fed-Fed, who since being taken to a tiebreaker in search of match point against Feliciano Lopez in Round 1 hasn’t come within shouting distance of losing a set, whizzing around on clay like he’s knocking down dominos at the All-England Club.

Federer’s ten-ace, five-break pantsing of Tipsarevic took precisely an hour and a half to accomplish on Court Suzanne Lenglen. His fourth-round opponent will be the winner of the Stanislas Wawrinka - Jo-Wilfried Tsonga match.

Third-round play continues Friday in the French Open 2011 at Stade Roland Garros, with match coverage beginning at 5 a.m. EDT. Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Caroline Wozniacki, and Vera Zvonareva will all be featured in live-televised action. Today’s TV schedule:

• 5 a.m. - 12 p.m.: First-round play (Tennis Channel)

• 12 p.m. - 6:30 p.m.: First-round play (ESPN2)