Some of the best matches on Wednesday’s schedule involve top contenders to reach the men’s final in the Nadal-less half of the draw. Many of them though will face dangerous opponents more than capable of an upset.
Dominic Thiem vs. Stefanos Tsitsipas
Thiem is the only man to defeat Rafael Nadal on clay over the past two years. But in his only previous clay match against Tsitsipas, the 19-year-old from Greek easily prevailed. That was just last month in Barcelona, the breakout tournament in Stefanos’ young career, as he reached his first ATP final. He proved that was no fluke by getting to the semis the very next week in Estoril, where he beat another top 10 player, Kevin Anderson. The only other two times Thiem faced Tsitsipas were also earlier this year, which saw Thiem win on hard courts. While I wouldn’t be surprised to see Tsitsipas to push Thiem on Wednesday, I expect the experience and fitness of Thiem to pay off in the best-of-five format, and help him get through this tough second round draw.
Alexander Zverev vs. Dusan Lajovic
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Zverev is the number two seed in Paris despite having yet to advance farther than the fourth round at any Grand Slam event. But he’s earned his ranking with his outstanding performances outside the majors, most recently going on a thirteen-match winning streak on clay before running into Rafael Nadal in the Rome final. Zverev’s been prone to surprising early-round losses at majors against lower-ranked players in good form, and Lajovic fits that description. The clay is where Lajovic excels, which was exemplified just a few weeks ago in Rome where he upset Juan Martin Del Potro in a final set tiebreak. And just last week in Lyon, Dominic Thiem narrowly escaped being upset by Lajovic. This will be the first meeting between Sascha and Dusan, and it may serve as a stern test for the 20-year-old German as he tries to breakthrough at a major.
Kei Nishikori vs. Benoit Paire
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The last time these two faced off at a major, Paire eliminated Nishikori in the opening round of the 2015 US Open in a five-setter. Overall, Kei owns a 3-2 edge over Paire. Nishikori won both their previous meetings on clay, including at Roland Garros in 2013. Kei is still working to get back to his top level following wrist injury which caused him to miss six months of action. He’s shown glimpses of his old self in recent months, most notably in his run to the final in Monte Carlo. But he also spoke of still feeling pain in his wrist after that full week of competition, so it’s unlikely he’s ready to play seven best-of-five matches over two weeks. That being said, he is fully capable of taking out a top seed and disrupting the draw. Kei is a possible fourth round opponent for Thiem. When it comes to Benoit Paire, one can never be quite sure what they’re going to get. His level can greatly vary from week-to-week, though he is coming off two top 30 victories in Rome, over Richard Gasquet and Diego Schwartzman. I’m curious to see how this one plays out in front of a partisan French crowd.
Madison Keys vs. Caroline Dolehide
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Following her first major final in New York last September, Keys would not win another match in 2017, cutting her season short due to ongoing wrist issues. 2018 has seen injury again hold her back, as she retired in Miami with a leg injury. Keys barely has a winning record this season, and Roland Garros is the only major she’s never been passed the fourth round. Despite all this, Keys can still be a significant threat in Paris. Madison has shown before she can play on the clay: she’s a former Rome finalist. When her big game is on, she can beat anyone. The issue on Wednesday is her young opponent also has a big game. Christopher Clarey of the New York Times recently described Dolehide as a “dangerous floater with power and spin and tenacity.” Mary Carillo stated the 19-year-old American’s kick serve is one of the highest-bouncing serves she’s seen. It was Dolehide who was just a few points away from defeating top-seeded Simona Halep in Indian Wells. She then went on to win an ITF event on clay. The winner of this match could be a factor in a crowded section of the draw that also includes Naomi Osaka and Elina Svitolina.
Order of play
Court Philippe CHATRIER
Play starts at 11am
Simona HALEP (ROU) [1] v Alison RISKE (USA)
Tomas BERDYCH (CZE) [17] v Jeremy CHARDY (FRA) – To be completed: Chardy leads 7-6(5) 7-6(10)
Kei NISHIKORI (JPN) [19] v Benoit PAIRE (FRA)
Georgina GARCIA PEREZ (ESP) v Caroline WOZNIACKI (DEN) [2]
Lucas POUILLE (FRA)[15] v Cameron NORRIE (GBR)
Court Suzanne LENGLEN
Play starts at 11am
Viktoria KUZMOVA (SVK) v Elina SVITOLINA (UKR)[4]
Jaume MUNAR (ESP) v Novak DJOKOVIC (SRB) [20]
David GOFFIN (BEL)[8] v Corentin MOUTET (FRA)
Alizé CORNET (FRA)[32] v Pauline PARMENTIER (FRA)
Court 1
Play starts at 11am
Petra KVITOVA (CZE) [8] v Lara ARRUABARRENA (ESP)
Dusan LAJOVIC (SRB) v Alexander ZVEREV (GER) [2]
Martin KLIZAN (SVK) v Gael MONFILS (FRA)[32]
Daria KASATKINA (RUS) [14] v Kirsten FLIPKENS (BEL)
Court 18
Play starts at 11am
Zarina DIYAS (KAZ) v Naomi OSAKA (JPN) [21]
Jared DONALDSON (USA) v Grigor DIMITROV (BUL)[4]
Dominic THIEM (AUT)[7] v Stefanos TSITSIPAS (GRE)
Maria SAKKARI (GRE) v Carla SUAREZ NAVARRO (ESP) [23]
Court 3
Play starts at 11am
Ekaterina MAKAROVA (RUS) v Barbora STRYCOVA (CZE) [26]
Roberto BAUTISTA AGUT (ESP) [13] v Santiago GIRALDO (COL)
Shuko AOYAMA (JPN) / Miyu KATO (JPN) [14] v Venus WILLIAMS (USA) / Serena WILLIAMS (USA)
Karen KHACHANOV (RUS) v Guillermo GARCIA-LOPEZ (ESP)
Court 4
Play starts at 11am
Manon ARCANGIOLI (FRA) / Sherazad REIX (FRA) v Tatjana MARIA (GER) / Heather WATSON (GBR)
Tessah ANDRIANJAFITRIMO (FRA) / Fiona FERRO (FRA) v Gabriela DABROWSKI (CAN) / Yifan XU (CHN) [5]
Polona HERCOG (SLO) / Alison VAN UYTVANCK (BEL) v Eri HOZUMI (JPN) / Makoto NINOMIYA (JPN)
Christina MCHALE (USA) / Shuai PENG (CHN) v Nicole MELICHAR (USA) / Kveta PESCHKE (CZE) [13]
Nadiia KICHENOK (UKR) / Anastasia RODIONOVA (AUS) [16] v Mandy MINELLA (LUX) / Anastasija SEVASTOVA (LAT)
Court 5
Play starts at 11am
Kateryna KOZLOVA (UKR) v Katerina SINIAKOVA (CZE)
Latisha CHAN (TPE) / Bethanie MATTEK-SANDS (USA) [4] v Virginie RAZZANO (FRA) / Jade SUVRIJN (FRA)
Yulia PUTINTSEVA (KAZ) v Jennifer BRADY (USA)
Kateryna BONDARENKO (UKR) / Aleksandra KRUNIC (SRB) v Alicja ROSOLSKA (POL) / Abigail SPEARS (USA) [15]
Court 6
Play starts at 11am
Alexandra DULGHERU (ROU) v Anett KONTAVEIT (EST) [25]
Fernando VERDASCO (ESP) [30] v Guido ANDREOZZI (ARG)
Matteo BERRETTINI (ITA) v Ernests GULBIS (LAT)
Mariana DUQUE-MARINO (COL) v Camila GIORGI (ITA)
Court 7
Play starts at 11am
Federico DELBONIS (ARG) v Pablo CARRENO BUSTA (ESP) [10]
Madison KEYS (USA)[13] v Caroline DOLEHIDE (USA)
Gilles SIMON (FRA) v Sam QUERREY (USA)[12]
Magdalena FRECH (POL) v Sloane STEPHENS (USA)[10]
Court 8
Play starts at 11am
Mihaela BUZARNESCU (ROU) [31] v Rebecca PETERSON (SWE)
Damir DZUMHUR (BIH)[26] v Radu ALBOT (MDA)
Petra MARTIC (CRO) v Qiang WANG (CHN)
Timea BABOS (HUN) / Kristina MLADENOVIC (FRA) [1] v Ajla TOMLJANOVIC (AUS) / Shuai ZHANG (CHN)
Sander ARENDS (NED) / Adil SHAMASDIN (CAN) v Oliver MARACH (AUT) / Mate PAVIC (CRO) [2]
Court 9
Play starts at 11am
Marco TRUNGELLITI (ARG) v Marco CECCHINATO (ITA)
Lesley KERKHOVE (NED) / Lidziya MAROZAVA (BLR) v Anastasia PAVLYUCHENKOVA (RUS) / Samantha STOSUR (AUS)
Victoria AZARENKA (BLR) / Aryna SABALENKA (BLR) v Svetlana KUZNETSOVA (RUS) / Lucie SAFAROVA (CZE)
Lukasz KUBOT (POL) / Marcelo MELO (BRA) [1] v Marco CECCHINATO (ITA) / Marton FUCSOVICS (HUN)
Jelena OSTAPENKO (LAT) / Elena VESNINA (RUS) [10] v Sorana CIRSTEA (ROU) / Sara SORRIBES TORMO (ESP)
Court 12
Play starts at 11am
Hans PODLIPNIK-CASTILLO (CHI) / Jackson WITHROW (USA) v Ivan DODIG (CRO) [9] / Rajeev RAM (USA)
Maximilian MARTERER (GER) / Philipp PETZSCHNER (GER) v Daniele BRACCIALI (ITA) / Andreas SEPPI (ITA)
Ashleigh BARTY (AUS) / Coco VANDEWEGHE (USA) [7] v Darija JURAK (CRO) / Donna VEKIC (CRO)
Robert LINDSTEDT (SWE) / Marcin MATKOWSKI (POL) v Pierre-Hugues HERBERT (FRA) / Nicolas MAHUT (FRA) [6]
Nikoloz BASILASHVILI (GEO) / John MILLMAN (AUS) v Florian LAKAT (FRA) / Arthur RINDERKNECH (FRA)
Court 13
Play starts at 11am
Roman JEBAVY (CZE) / Andrei VASILEVSKI (BLR) v Marcelo DEMOLINER (BRA) / Santiago GONZALEZ (MEX)
Su-Wei HSIEH (TPE) / Andrea PETKOVIC (GER) v Hao-Ching CHAN (TPE) / Zhaoxuan YANG (CHN) [8]
Guillermo DURAN (ARG) / Andres MOLTENI (ARG) v Feliciano LOPEZ (ESP) / Marc LOPEZ (ESP) [12]
Ana BOGDAN (ROU) / Olga SAVCHUK (UKR) v Yingying DUAN (CHN) / Aliaksandra SASNOVICH (BLR)
Demi SCHUURS (NED) / Matwe MIDDELKOOP (NED) v Hao-Ching CHAN (TPE) / Michael VENUS (NZL) [6]
Court 14
Play starts at 11am
Guido PELLA (ARG) / Diego SCHWARTZMAN (ARG) v Antoine HOANG (FRA) / Ugo HUMBERT (FRA)
Scott LIPSKY (USA) / Tennys SANDGREN (USA) v Benjamin BONZI (FRA) / Gregoire JACQ (FRA)
Steve JOHNSON (USA) / Jack SOCK (USA) v Nicholas MONROE (USA) / John-Patrick SMITH (AUS)
Johanna KONTA (GBR) / Alison RISKE (USA) v Anabel MEDINA GARRIGUES (ESP) / Arantxa PARRA SANTONJA (ESP)
Federico DELBONIS (ARG) / Benoit PAIRE (FRA) v Ryan HARRISON (USA) / Vasek POSPISIL (CAN)
Court 15
Play starts at 11am
Ben MCLACHLAN (JPN) / Jan-Lennard STRUFF (GER) [14] v Marcelo AREVALO (ESA) / Jamie CERRETANI (USA)
Calvin HEMERY (FRA) / Stephane ROBERT (FRA) v Matthew EBDEN (AUS) / Donald YOUNG (USA)
Veronika KUDERMETOVA (RUS) / Alla KUDRYAVTSEVA (RUS) v Kiki BERTENS (NED) / Johanna LARSSON (SWE) [9]
Pablo CUEVAS (URU) / Marcel GRANOLLERS (ESP) [11] v Jeremy CHARDY (FRA) / Daniel NESTOR (CAN)
Jamie MURRAY (GBR) / Bruno SOARES (BRA) [4] v Dusan LAJOVIC (SRB) / Florian MAYER (GER)
Court 16
Play starts at 11am
Aisam-ul-haq QURESHI (PAK) / Jean-julien ROJER (NED) [7] v Evgeny DONSKOY (RUS) / Miguel Angel REYES-VARELA (MEX)
Maximo GONZALEZ (ARG) / Nicolas JARRY (CHI) v Paolo LORENZI (ITA) / Mischa ZVEREV (GER)
Geoffrey BLANCANEAUX (FRA) / Constant LESTIENNE (FRA) v Leonardo MAYER (ARG) / Joao SOUSA (POR)
Taylor TOWNSEND (USA) / Renata VORACOVA (CZE) v Sara CAKAREVIC (FRA) / Jessika PONCHET (FRA)
Fabrice MARTIN (FRA) / Purav RAJA (IND) v Yuki BHAMBRI (IND) / Divij SHARAN (IND)
