The biggest news of the day and perhaps the tournament came away from the court at Roland Garros on Friday. After positive results in his first two rounds, Rafael Nadal called an impromptu press conference to announce his withdrawal from the tournament, citing a left wrist injury.

“It’s not broken, but if I continue to play, it will be broken in a few days,” he said. “This is a very bad position, but that’s life. If this was not Roland Garros, I probably would not have taken the risk of playing in the first couple of days.” The emotional Spaniard continued, “This is a tough moment, and the toughest press conference I have ever had to give, but it’s not the end.”  On paper, the exit benefits a number of players, including world No. 1 Novak Djokovic as he seeks his first title at the French Open.

Meanwhile, on the court, there were compelling matches throughout the grounds on Friday. To the delight of the home crowd, ninth-seeded Richard Gasquet defeated 17th seed Nick Kyrgios 6-2, 7-6, 6-2. The Frenchman exhibited a sharp, precise performance against the up-and-comer as he moved the Aussie around the court on the strength of his signature backhand. The 21-year-old could not work his way into the match, despite his strong effort in the second set.

Krygios appeared to have shoulder pain during the match, which required treatment from the trainer. But he made no excuses afterwards, stating, “I struggled today pretty much in every aspect. I had chances in the second set, and I just didn't play big.”

Meanwhile, Gasquet was pleased with his performance, saying “It’s great for me to win against Nick in three sets. He's one of the biggest players now and played very well the last two months. Of course it's a big victory, especially for me on center court at home with my crowd.”

The two competitors have a history of drama, including a classic battle at Wimbledon two years ago. There, Kyrgios overcame a two-set deficit to defeat the veteran in a thriller. Gasquet will next face fifth-seeded Kei Nishikori, who needed five sets to advance past Fernando Verdasco on Friday.

Elsewhere in the men’s draw, it was a mixed day for the Americans as John Isner advanced, but Jack Sock was not as fortunate.

Isner was forced to overcome a 2-1 set deficit against Teymuraz Gabashvili before rallying to win 7-6, 4-6, 2-6, 6-4, 6-2. He trailed 0-2 in the fifth set before turning the set in his favor, rattling off six straight games to close out the match. The big server fired 34 aces in the match and struck 69 winners.

Isner kept his sense of humor after the three-plus hour match. He said, “Obviously, I've been out there a lot longer in five sets,” referring to his marathon match against Nicolas Mahut at Wimbledon six years ago.

Meanwhile, there were too many errors and missed opportunities for Sock, who fell to Albert Ramos-Vinolas 6-7, 6-4, 6-4, 4-6, 6-4. His 76 unforced errors were too much to overcome despite his 65 winners. His loss left Isner as the sole American in the men’s draw.

In the women’s draw, it took three sets, but sixth-seeded Simona Halep advanced past the aggressive Naomi Osaka 4-6, 6-2, 6-3.

There were many curious eyes watching the teen, who looks to have all of the tools to become a future champion. She remained positive despite the loss. “She has more experience than me. I feel like I'm not the greatest player ever, so I can't be upset that I lost,” Osaka said. “I'm just going to take this as a learning lesson because it's better than how I played in the Australian Open third round anyway.”

Elsewhere, a Cinderella story has emerged from Roland Garros, and it belongs to American Shelby Rogers. In a performance that few imagined prior to the French Open, Rogers advanced to the fourth round after defeating two-time major champion Petra Kvitova, 6-0, 6-7, 6-0.

Rogers entered Paris ranked outside the top 100, but with her performance, she has risen to world No. 79 and is climbing. The victory against the 10th seed was even more impressive given her ability to turn the momentum in her favor after losing the second-set tiebreak. It was the biggest win of the American’s career, and she was unable to contain her emotions afterwards. “There was a lot of noise and a lot of applause, and a lot of emotions taking over, but I'm one that cries very easily, and I think everyone saw that,” she said. “I immediately started crying, and it was a very incredible moment. It's definitely up there as one of the best moments of my life.”

The same could not be said for fellow American Sloane Stephens, who fell to Tsvetana Pironkova, 6-2, 6-1. Third-round play will continue on Saturday.