Struggling American Andy Roddick slumped to his third defeat at the World Team Cup on Thursday when he lost 7-5, 7-6 (7/4) to Japan's Go Soeda, the world number 60.

French hopes of finally celebrating another male champion at Roland Garros have taken another big hit with the news that Gael Monfils is out due to injury.

Nikolay Davydenko beat top-seeded John Isner 6-4, 7-6 (4) on Thursday, joining second-seeded Gilles Simon and third-seeded Nicolas Almagro in the Open de Nice semifinals.

Second-seeded Francesca Schiavone of Italy easily defeated Johanna Larsson of Sweden 6-0, 6-3 to reach the Strasbourg International semifinals on Thursday, but three-time champion Anabel Medina Garrigues lost.

France's Gael Monfils withdrew from the French Open on Thursday after failing to recover from a right knee injury, dealing a major blow to home hopes of ending a 29-year wait for a men's champion.

Sania Mirza and her American partner Bethanie Mattek-Sands stormed into the title clash of the WTA Brussels Open after struggling past Anastasia Rodionova and Casey Dellacqua 6-3, 4-6, 10-5, in Brussels on Thursday.

Top-seeded John Isner hit 13 aces on his way to a hard-fought 7-6 (3), 7-6 (5) win against Belgium's Xavier Malisse at the Open de Nice on Wednesday.

Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova, two players better known for their hardcourt and grasscourt abilities, are the form players going into the climax of the claycourt season at the French Open.

John Isner, better known for taking more than 11 hours to win a Wimbledon match in 2010, leads American hopes at the French Open of ending an agonising 33-tournament wait for a Grand Slam men's title winner.

Rafael Nadal could become the first man to win seven Roland Garros titles, but Novak Djokovic and a rejuvenated Roger Federer are braced to slam the door shut on the Spaniard's history-making campaign.