On Wednesday, Paris was the home of many exciting and extended matches in the men’s draw. Two such matches will be finished on Thursday. Dominic Thiem will resume his match against Stefanos Tsitsipas with a two-sets-to-one lead, while Lucas Pouille holds the same lead over Cameron Norrie in their to-be-continued second round affair.
On Thursday, many of the more intriguing matchups are on the women’s side. How will multi-time former champions Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova rebound after less than stellar opening round performances?
Serena Williams vs. Ashleigh Barty
While Serena was not at her best on Tuesday, she grinded out a win over Kristyna Pliskova in her Grand Slam return. But the competition only get steeper from here, as it will in her second round against Barty, the 17th seed. The 22-year-old Australian actually retired from the sport a few years and played professional cricket. Since her return to tennis two years ago, Barty has ascended to new heights in the sport. Last year she won her first WTA title in Malaysia. Ashleigh also advanced to the final of the Premier 5 event in Wuhan, losing a tight final to Caroline Garcia. She’s also an accomplished doubles player, and was a doubles finalist at Roland Garros just last year. Clay may not be her surface of choice, but she has a lot more variety in her game than Kristyna Pliskova, so we’ll see how Serena is able to respond. I would call Serena a slight favorite in what should be an intriguing matchup.
Maria Sharapova vs. Donna Vekic
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In her first French Open match in three years, Sharapova was pushed to the limit. She was down 3-0 in the final set before coming roaring back to defeat Richel Hogenkamp. And I do mean roaring: I’ve never heard Sharapova grunt/shriek louder than on this occasion. She was determined to get prevail in her first match in Paris since 2015. In Vekic, she faces a 21-year-old on her way up the rankings. Her best results though have come on grass and not clay, as Vekic won the title last year Nottingham before going down to defeat to Johanna Konta in a great match at Wimbledon. But Vekic has shown she won’t shy away from playing a top name on a big stage. If Sharapova is going to contend for this title, she’ll need to up her level and get some easier wins. Maria has not played deep into a major in several years, so saving some energy in week one will be key. This match should be a good indicator of her championship chances.
Karolina Pliskova vs. Lucie Safarova
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Pliskova is considered one of the top contenders during this fortnight, coming off her clay title in Stuttgart and a semifinal run in Madrid. But her opponent on Thursday is actually the one who has advanced farther at the French Open. While Pliskova was a semifinalist last year, Safarova was a finalist in 2015. Lucie has been hampered by illness and injury since that career highlight three years ago. She recently missed three months of action due to illness, and just returned to the tour last week in Strasbourg. While she’s obviously not as match tough as she’d like to be, she’s still a threat in Paris. These Czech Fed Cup teammates have played each other eight times before, with Pliskova having a 6-2 edge. Safarova’s only two victories have come on clay, and interestingly enough, in the capital of the Czech Republic. Playing a fellow countrywoman can be tricky, as can be Safarova’s lefty game. Pliskova can ill afford on off day in her second round match, but she should be able to capitalize on Safarova’s lack of match play.
Kevin Anderson vs. Pablo Cuevas
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This match will likely go a bit under the radar on a busy Day 5, but this may end up being one of the most competitive and entertaining matches of the day. It’s a contrast of styles between the big-serving South African and the clay court specialist from Uruguay. It’s also a contrast in size, as Anderson is almost a foot taller than Cuevas. Anderson has quietly become one of the top players on tour. He’s backed up his first major final at the 2017 US Open with consistently good results in 2018. After going 8-1 in February, he made the quarters at both Indian Wells and Miami. Then in Madrid, he finally broke through and got into his first Masters 1,000 semifinal, after going 0-10 at the quarterfinal stage of such events. While not thought of as a clay specialist like Cuevas, Anderson’s second best winning percentage at a major is actually at Roland Garros. All of Cuevas’ six career titles have come on clay, yet surprisingly he’s yet to get farther than the third round at Roland Garros. Anderson won both of their previous meetings, but both went to tight final sets. Their battle at the 2014 US Open went all the way to a fifth set tiebreak. I expect another prolonged battle today. The winner will have a few winnable matches ahead of them, with Rafael Nadal the likely quarterfinal opponent for the last man standing in this section.
Order of play
Court Philippe-Chatrier
Play starts at 11am
Marin CILIC (CRO) [3] vs Hubert HURKACZ (POL)
Not before 12pm
Lucas POUILLE (FRA) [15] vs Cameron NORRIE (GBR) – To be completed: Pouille leads 6-2 6-4 5-7
Simona HALEP (ROU) [1] vs Taylor TOWNSEND (USA)
Julien BENNETEAU (FRA) vs Juan Martin DEL POTRO (ARG) [5]
Serena WILLIAMS (USA) vs Ashleigh BARTY (AUS) [17]
Court Suzanne-Lenglen
Play starts at 11am
Garbiñe MUGURUZA (ESP) [3] vs Fiona FERRO (FRA)
Malek JAZIRI (TUN) vs Richard GASQUET (FRA) [27]
Rafael NADAL (ESP) [1] vs Guido PELLA (ARG)
Shuai PENG (CHN) vs Caroline GARCIA (FRA) [7]
Court 1
Play starts at 11am
Denis SHAPOVALOV (CAN) [24] vs Maximilian MARTERER (GER)
Maria SHARAPOVA (RUS) [28] vs Donna VEKIC (CRO)
Pierre-Hugues HERBERT (FRA) vs Jeremy CHARDY (FRA)
Julia GOERGES (GER) [11] vs Alison VAN UYTVANCK (BEL)
Court 18
Play starts at 11am
Fabio FOGNINI (ITA) [18] vs Elias YMER (SWE)
Not before 12pm
Dominic THIEM (AUT) [7] vs Stefanos TSITSIPAS (GRE) – To be completed: Thiem leads 6-2 2-6 6-4
Lucie SAFAROVA (CZE) vs Karolina PLISKOVA (CZE) [6]
John ISNER (USA)[9] vs Horacio ZEBALLOS (ARG)
Shuai ZHANG (CHN) [27] vs Irina-Camelia BEGU (ROU)
Court 3
Play starts at 11am
Heather WATSON (GBR) vs Elise MERTENS (BEL) [16]
Marton FUCSOVICS (HUN) vs Kyle EDMUND (GBR) [16]
Thomas FABBIANO (ITA) vs Borna CORIC (CRO)
Kristina MLADENOVIC (FRA) & Alexis MUSIALEK (FRA) vs Anabel MEDINA GARRIGUES (ESP) & Marcel GRANOLLERS (ESP)
Court 4
Play starts at 11am
Tessah ANDRIANJAFITRIMO (FRA) & Ugo HUMBERT (FRA) vs Nicole MELICHAR (USA) & Alexander PEYA (AUT)
Raquel ATAWO (USA) & Anna-Lena GROENEFELD (GER) [11] vs Zarina DIYAS (KAZ) & Saisai ZHENG (CHN)
Sara ERRANI (ITA) & Kirsten FLIPKENS (BEL) vs Clara BUREL (FRA) & Diane PARRY (FRA)
Lara ARRUABARRENA (ESP) & Katarina SREBOTNIK (SLO) vs Elise MERTENS (BEL) [12] & Demi SCHUURS (NED)
Sara CAKAREVIC (FRA) & Alexandre MULLER (FRA) vs Vania KING (USA) & Franko SKUGOR (CRO)
Court 5
Play starts at 11am
Samantha STOSUR (AUS) vs Anastasia PAVLYUCHENKOVA (RUS) [30]
Irina BARA (ROU) & Mihaela BUZARNESCU (ROU) vs Xenia KNOLL (SUI) & Anna SMITH (GBR)
Viktorija GOLUBIC (SUI) & Nina STOJANOVIC (SRB) vs Amandine HESSE (FRA) & Pauline PARMENTIER (FRA)
Daria GAVRILOVA (AUS) & Daria KASATKINA (RUS) vs Nao HIBINO (JPN) & Oksana KALASHNIKOVA (GEO)
Anna-Lena GROENEFELD (GER) & Robert FARAH (COL) [8] vs Coco VANDEWEGHE (USA) & Rajeev RAM (USA)
Court 6
Play starts at 11am
Ruben BEMELMANS (BEL) vs Jurgen ZOPP (EST)
Lesia TSURENKO (UKR) vs Coco VANDEWEGHE (USA) [15]
Diego SCHWARTZMAN (ARG) [11] vs Adam PAVLASEK (CZE)
Benjamin BONZI (FRA) & Gregoire JACQ (FRA) vs Rohan BOPANNA (IND) & Edouard ROGER-VASSELIN (FRA) [13]
Court 7
Play starts at 11am
Jan-Lennard STRUFF (GER) vs Steve JOHNSON (USA)
Pablo CUEVAS (URU) vs Kevin ANDERSON (RSA) [6]
Angelique KERBER (GER) [12] vs Ana BOGDAN (ROU)
Court 8
Play starts at 11am
Daria GAVRILOVA (AUS) [24] vs Bernarda PERA (USA)
Bethanie MATTEK-SANDS (USA) vs Andrea PETKOVIC (GER)
Albert RAMOS-VINOLAS (ESP) [31] vs Casper RUUD (NOR)
Lyudmyla KICHENOK (UKR) & Lesia TSURENKO (UKR) vs Andrea SESTINI HLAVACKOVA (CZE) & Barbora STRYCOVA (CZE) [2]
Court 9
Play starts at 11am
Magdalena RYBARIKOVA (SVK) [19] vs Belinda BENCIC (SUI)
Sergiy STAKHOVSKY (UKR) vs Mischa ZVEREV (GER)
Aliaksandra SASNOVICH (BLR) vs Kiki BERTENS (NED) [18]
Anna BLINKOVA (RUS) & Lucie HRADECKA (CZE) vs Viktoria KUZMOVA (SVK) & Magdalena RYBARIKOVA (SVK)
Court 12
Play starts at 11am
Anna KALINSKAYA (RUS) & Ekaterina MAKAROVA (RUS) vs Jennifer BRADY (USA) & Vania KING (USA)
Wesley KOOLHOF (NED) & Artem SITAK (NZL) vs Ivan DODIG (CRO) & Rajeev RAM (USA) [9]
Raven KLAASEN (RSA) & Michael VENUS (NZL) [10] vs Jonathan EYSSERIC (FRA) & Hugo NYS (FRA)
Roberto CARBALLES BAENA (ESP) & Guillermo GARCIA-LOPEZ (ESP) vs Simone BOLELLI (ITA) & Fabio FOGNINI (ITA)
Court 14
Play starts at 11am
Ken SKUPSKI (GBR) & Neal SKUPSKI (GBR) vs Daniele BRACCIALI (ITA) & Andreas SEPPI (ITA)
Monique ADAMCZAK (AUS) & Yafan WANG (CHN) vs Andreja KLEPAC (SLO) & María José MARTINEZ SANCHEZ (ESP) [3]
Jamie MURRAY (GBR) & Bruno SOARES (BRA) [4] vs Dusan LAJOVIC (SRB) & Florian MAYER (GER)
Alla KUDRYAVTSEVA (RUS) & Nikola MEKTIC (CRO) vs Zhaoxuan YANG (CHN) & Aisam-ul-haq QURESHI (PAK)
Jelena OSTAPENKO (LAT) & Max MIRNYI (BLR) vs Andreja KLEPAC (SLO) & Jean-Julien ROJER (NED) [5]
Court 15
Play starts at 11am
Dalila JAKUPOVIC (SLO) & Irina KHROMACHEVA (RUS) vs Naomi BROADY (GBR) & Magda LINETTE (POL)
Barbora KREJCIKOVA (CZE) & Katerina SINIAKOVA (CZE) [6] vs Vera LAPKO (BLR) & Raluca OLARU (ROU)
Federico DELBONIS (ARG) & Benoit PAIRE (FRA) vs Ryan HARRISON (USA) & Vasek POSPISIL (CAN)
Johanna KONTA (GBR) & Dominic INGLOT (GBR) vs Fiona FERRO (FRA) & Evan FURNESS (FRA)
Katerina SINIAKOVA (CZE) & Jamie MURRAY (GBR) [4] vs María José MARTINEZ SANCHEZ (ESP) & Marcelo DEMOLINER (BRA)
Court 16
Play starts at 11am
Kaitlyn CHRISTIAN (USA) & Carina WITTHOEFT (GER) vs María IRIGOYEN (ARG) & Kateryna KOZLOVA (UKR)
Marcelo DEMOLINER (BRA) & Santiago GONZALEZ (MEX) vs Feliciano LOPEZ (ESP) & Marc LOPEZ (ESP) [12]
Mirza BASIC (BIH) & Damir DZUMHUR (BIH) vs Henri KONTINEN (FIN) & John PEERS (AUS) [3]
Abigail SPEARS (USA) & Juan Sebastian CABAL (COL) vs Kveta PESCHKE (CZE) & Marcin MATKOWSKI (POL)
Evgeny DONSKOY (RUS) & Miguel Angel REYES-VARELA (MEX) vs Leonardo MAYER (ARG) & Joao SOUSA (POR)
