The last several days of Roland Garros produced some great ATP action, especially round three, and here is a look at five of the best men’s battles from that time.

5) R3: Guillermo Garcia-Lopez d. Donald Young 6-2 6-4 2-6 6-7(4) 6-4

Garcia-Lopez made the second week with a five-set victory over American Donald Young, who gave a spirited showing on the red clay and nearly pulled off a comeback from two sets down against a Spaniard. Garcia-Lopez was in control during the first two sets before Young played a strong third set. In the fourth set, the Spaniard served for the match at 5-4 but was broken and would go on to lose the fourth-set tiebreak. He claimed an early break in the fifth set before Young clawed that back. But the American was broken again later in the set as Garcia-Lopez pulled through. It was still a high-quality performance on a big stage from both players ,and it will be interesting to see what type of tennis they can both produce as the season continues on and transitions off clay.

4) R3: Gael Monfils d. Fabio Fognini 5-7 6-2 6-4 0-6 6-2

It was the showman’s match that everyone expected, and those who like to be entertained while watching tennis were definitely not disappointed. Monfils had the crowd behind him as he edged past Fognini and avenged his five-set loss at the 2010 French Open with a five-set win this time. La Monf was impressive in the second and third sets, was either dizzy or more likely tanked the fourth set to give the crowd a fifth set. Then he found some great play again in the fifth as Fognini imploded and bowed out weakly after winning a bagel fourth set. Fognini would show his disgust to the crowd at the end after whining about them earlier and throwing his racquet on a consistent basis. He also tanked the last game openly. In terms of statistics, Fognini put up 81 unforced errors, while Monfils put 56 on the board, and a grand total of 42 break points arose in the match. It was not the highest quality and not something for other players to emulate, but this was a classic in its own way.

3) R3: Andy Murray d. Philipp Kohlschreiber 3-6 6-3 6-3 4-6 12-10

Unlike Monfils and Fognini, Murray and Kohlschreiber took an austere, serious approach to their third-round match. Murray eventually prevailed, but it took two days and a 12-10 fifth set. Murray was awoken after losing the first set and seemed to have a firm upper hand in the match for the next two sets and much of the fourth. He lost his consistency late in the fourth set as Kohlschreiber claimed a decisive break to take the set. They reached 7-7 in the fifth set before play halted because of darkness. A day later, Murray had to serve first, and then they held until Murray was able to break up 11-10 on serve and win. It’s clear that Murray has improved his clay game, while Kohlschreiber played one of his better matches in an otherwise weak season. Kohlschreiber was slightly more aggressive in this match, but Murray was able to fend him off, even with his first serve again letting him down. He was more tenacious under pressure and overcame the disappointment of losing the fourth set to survive.

2) R3: Milos Raonic d. Gilles Simon 4-6 6-3 2-6 6-2 7-5

Raonic relied on his serve to survive a seemingly rejuvenated Gilles Simon in five sets. Simon has been awful this season overall, but he had a solid French Open showing and very nearly upset the in-form Canadian. Raonic was broken serving for the match in the fifth set at 5-4, and he was unimpressive in the first and third sets. But Simon’s level dropped in the second and fourth sets, and then in the fifth set he cracked under pressure as Raonic seemed close to cracking himself. Simon simply didn’t have enough weapons to get past Raonic and wasn’t offensive enough when it mattered. But the style contrast was fascinating between the heavy-hitting aggressive Canadian, who goes to the net more than most players, and the defensive Frenchman, who played most of his return points well behind the baseline.

1) R4: Ernests Gulbis d. Roger Federer 6-7(5) 7-6(3) 6-2 4-6 6-3

Ernests Gulbis has had an amazing two-week stretch, and his marquee win so far is his five-set upset over Federer in the round of 16. Gulbis won for the second time on clay against Federer after they played two great tiebreaks, followed by a strong third set from Gulbis and a courageous fourth-set comeback from Federer. In the fifth set, Gulbis claimed an early break as Federer got off a bad start in the deciding set that led to his ultimately losing the match. This victory finally propelled Gulbis into the top 10.