PARIS — Roger Federer could be excused if he has a restless night.
With thick gray clouds overhead and light slipping away at the end of a rainy day, Federer got broken by Gael Monfils to even their French Open fourth-round match at a set apiece, right before play was suspended Sunday.
MONDAY'S TOP MATCHES
MEN
• No. 1 Novak Djokovic vs. No. 20 Richard Gasquet
• No. 2 Roger Federer vs. No. 13 Gael Monfils
WOMEN
• No. 1 Serena Williams vs. Sloane Stephens
• No. 2 Maria Sharapova vs. No. 13 Lucie Safarova
They met on the sideline to chat with the chair umpire, then clasped hands, and Monfils gave Federer a playful pat on the shoulder. Spectators at Court Philippe Chatrier booed and whistled upon hearing there’d be no more tennis.
Federer, the 17-time Grand Slam champion, and Monfils, the flamboyant Frenchman who won their two most recent encounters, will resume Monday. At least they finished two sets, with Federer taking the first 6-3, and Monfils winning the second 6-4.
Two women’s matches did not begin at all, including defending champion Maria Sharapova against Lucie Safarova.
In the quarterfinals, Federer or Monfils will face Federer’s Swiss Davis Cup teammate Stan Wawrinka, the No. 8 seed, who had no trouble beating 12th-seeded Frenchman Gilles Simon 6-1, 6-4, 6-2.
In the other half of the draw, No. 5 Kei Nishikori became the first Japanese man in 82 years to reach the quarterfinals in Paris, eliminating Teymuraz Gabashvili 6-3, 6-4, 6-2.
“I hope it’s just the start of my journey and I hope I can keep going,” said Nishikori, who had three days off because his third-round opponent withdrew with an injury.
The only other man from his country to make it this far at this tournament was Jiro Satoh, a semifinalist in 1931 and 1933.
Next for Nishikori is No. 14 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France, who overcame a midmatch lapse to defeat No. 4 Tomas Berdych 6-3, 6-2, 6-7 (5), 6-3.
In a women’s match, No. 7 Ana Ivanovic beat No. 9 Ekaterina Makarova 7-5, 3-6, 6-1 to return to the quarterfinals for the first time since winning the 2008 title.
“On the one hand, it does feel like it’s a different life. On the other hand, I feel like time is really flying. I feel it hasn’t been that many years,” said Ivanovic, who briefly was ranked No. 1 after winning her lone Grand Slam trophy.
Her match was halted by rain after five games, and tournament officials wavered about when to resume.
“It was like, ‘OK, in half an hour. In half an hour. In half an hour.’ So it was really not easy to relax and refocus,” Ivanovic said.
Ivanovic will play No. 19 Elina Svitolina, a 20-year-old from Ukraine who reached her first major quarterfinal with a 6-2, 7-6 (9) victory over No. 29 Alize Cornet.
In the second set, Cornet berated the chair umpire over a line call, daring her to “give me a warning” and saying the official “stole” a point. Later, Cornet referred to the ruling as “a shame” and “a scandal.”
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