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Juan Carlos Ferrero (Sergio Ruiz, Wikimedia Commons)

Three seeded players from France lost on day four of the U.S. Open in Flushing Meadows, New York.

In one of the most intriguing matches so far, former world number one and 2003 French Open Champion Juan Carlos Ferrero of Spain defeated the dynamic Gael Monfils of France, the seventh seed, 7-6, 5-7, 6-7, 6-4, 6-4, in a five set thriller in the second round.

Richard Gasquet, the unlucky thirteenth seed, lost in four sets to Croatian Ivo Karlovic 6-4, 6-2, 2-6, 7-6.  Karlovic, known for his outstanding serve and volley ability, is the tallest player on the ATP Tour at 6’10″.

The other French seeded player to fall was the 29th seed Michael Llodra, who lost easily in straight sets 6-1, 6-2, 6-2 to South African Kevin Anderson. This to me was not much of an upset at all, as Anderson, ranked 34th, is the second best player in the U.S. Open field not seeded, and had a strong Rogers Cup, where he defeated Andy Murray of Great Britain in the second round, 6-3, 6-1.

The only other seeded player to lose Thursday was Czech Republic’s Radek Stepanek, who withdrew in the third set with a shoulder injury, trailing 6-4, 6-1, 2-0 to Argentina’s Juan Monaco.

On the women’s side, American Sloane Stephens upset Israel’s Shahar Peer, the 23rd seed, 6-1, 7-6. Another American to deliver a second round upset was Vania King, who completely dominated Australian Jarmila Gajdosova 6-2, 6-0. The other upset came from Spain’s Silvia Soler-Espinosa, who beat Estonia’s Kaia Kanepi 6-4, 6-2.

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