No sign of abdication by King Nadal though Prince is watching, Petkovic’s homework pays off, stop ignoring Halep

On day nine of Roland Garros we learned that Nadal is a Prince fan, Petkovic stalked Bertens on YouTube, Murray and Monfils are old pals and Halep’s not getting the attention she deserves.

Rafael Nadal playing Dusan Lajovic on Monday RFI/Pierre René-Worms

• The Prince hails a king. Rafael Nadal went to a Prince concert on Sunday night and Prince returned the favour by attending the king of clay's concert on centre court. Nadal was master of his domain as he cut up the Serb Dusan Lajovich 61 62 61.
  

• Sometimes circumstances just don’t fall instantly for the five things we learned review. We’re nine days in and the daily review hasn’t succumbed to the utterly necessary conceit of being self-referential. This could be a record. We’ll have to check. But away from the heady world of Roland Garros, Spain’s King Juan Carlos announced that he was abdicating so that Crown Prince Felipe could take over. With world news like that Rafael Nadal, eight-times winner of Roland Garros, really should have rolled over so that symmetry could have its day. But no. After beating Dusan Lajovich, Nadal still reigns. Rest assured should there be a slip up … you know what’s coming.
• It pays to do your homework. German 28th seed Andrea Petkovic had never played Kiki Bertens before their fourth round clash on day nine. So how did she find out about her oppponent? Via the internet of course. "I just stalked her on YouTube the whole day," said Petkovic. "And I was already impressed." Clearly. Petkovic lost the first set before recovering her poise to claim the next two.
• Andy Murray and Gaël Monfils go back. Way back. “I have known Gaël since I was 10 and he was 11,” said Murray of his quarter-final opponent. So there’ll be no surprises for the Scotsman? Nay, laddie. “He is an unbelievable entertainer, a great athlete, a very nice guy.” Monfils even recalls playing against Andy’s older brother, Jamie, when they were youngsters. The junior Murray – now 27 – added, “It should be a very tough match but there should be some fun points because of the way we both play.” Bless.
• Silence is golden. Romania's Simona Halep is into the last eight at Roland Garros for the first time. She beat the American 15th seed Sloane Stephens in straight sets and is the highest seed left in the women’s draw. It’s an ascent that seems to be going unnoticed.