Leading men pull rank at Paris

Murray, Wawrinka win to join Nadal, Djokovic in the quarterfinals.

PARIS — For all of the tumult in the French Open women’s draw and the unfamiliar names filling the quarterfinal slots, the men’s tournament has been much more about the usual suspects: Andy Murray, Novak Djokovic, Stan Wawrinka and, of course, Rafael Nadal.

No. 1-seeded Murray, a three-time major champion, and No. 3 Wawrinka, whose trio of Grand Slam trophies includes the 2015 French Open, moved into the quarters with ho-hum, straightset victories Monday.

Though three of the winners in women’s fourthround action Monday — No. 2 Karolina Pliskova, No. 3 Simona Halep and No. 5 Elina Svitolina — are highly seeded, none of the eight players left in that field has ever won a Grand Slam tournament.

“Everyone knows who remains in the draw,” said Svitolina, who was two points from losing before coming back to beat 290th-ranked Petra Martic 4-6, 6-3, 7-5. “It’s a big opportunity.”

Among the remaining men, there’s Murray and Wawrinka on the top half of the bracket. On the bottom half, No. 2 Djokovic, the defending champion, and No. 4 Nadal, seeking a 10th title in Paris, would set up a showdown in the semifinals with one victory apiece Tuesday.

“Looks like one of the top four guys” is going to end up grasping the champion’s Coupe des Mousquetaires, John McEnroe observed.

Murray was barely tested in the fourth round, beating 21-year-old Karen Khachanov 6-3, 6-4, 6-4. Wawrinka had only a bit more trouble, eliminating No. 15 Gael Monfils 7-5, 7-6 (7), 6-2.

Next for Murray is No. 8 Kei Nishikori, who got past a slow start to defeat Fernando Verdasco 0-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-0. Wawrinka is 11-2 against quarterfinal opponent No. 7 Marin Cilic, who was leading 6-3, 3-0 when Kevin Anderson stopped because of an injured left hamstring.

Wawrinka’s biggest difficulty was that his lower back locked up on him early against Monfils. Wawrinka took a medical timeout midway through the second set, lying down on the sideline and getting massaged by a trainer, but then played well the rest of the way.

Svitolina plays 2014 runner-up Halep, who defeated No. 21 Carla Suarez Navarro 6-1, 6-1. Pliskova meets No. 28 Caroline Garcia.