On the men’s side, two all-time greats will be heavily favoured against two men who have never been further than this stage of a major. In addition, two men who each have one major to their name will face off for the chance to duplicate that career highlight. And two young talents will fight for the opportunity to achieve Grand Slam glory for the first time.
On the women’s side, four current or former world number ones remain in the top half. The current one still looking for her first major title, and to conquer the demons of last year’s Roland Garros. In the bottom half, two standout Americans will battle two entertaining, Russian-born youngsters.
Alexander Zverev vs. Dominic Thiem
Zverev is finally into his first major quarter-final after his third straight five-set survival, having come back from two-sets-to-one down for the third time in a row. Will he have anything left for the two-time defending French Open semifinalist? This will be a tall task for the 21-year-old German. While Thiem has not played at his top level yet in Paris, and he himself is coming off three straight four-set matches, he’s a stronger player than the opponents Zverev has barely outlasted thus far. Thiem owns a 4-2 record against Zverev, which includes a third round match at Roland Garros from two years ago. However, Sascha has won two of their last three meetings. That includes the final in Madrid just a month ago, which Zverev won in straight sets. I’ve thought for some time that once Zverev broke through to his first major quarter-final, the flood gates would open, and he could easily make a run to a final in that same tournament. But considering Sascha has played fifteen sets of tennis in the past six days, and considering he’s playing one of the top clay court players in the world, Thiem has to be considered the favourite to make his third straight French Open semifinal.
Sloane Stephens vs. Daria Kasatkina
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This is a match-up I would like to see turn into a rivalry for years to come. Both are so much fun to watch. US Open Champion Sloane Stephens continues to display her awesome movement and sound shot-making abilities, while Daria Kasatkina showed off all the unorthodox variety in her game during her fourth round match against Caroline Wozniacki. Stephens and Kasatkina have only met twice before. Sloane won a tight three-setter on clay in 2016, and Dasha won comfortably in Indian Wells earlier this year. Stephens plays a similar style to Caroline Wozniacki, who has now lost six straight sets to Kasatkina in 2018. It will be key for Sloane to remain offensive-minded when the right moments appear. Stephens’ superior movement should also be a factor, as should her experience on a big stage like this. Keep in mind today will be Dasha’s first major quarter-final. I will look for Stephens to advance to her third major semifinal.
Madison Keys vs. Yulia Putintseva
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I’m most curious to see how this quarter-final plays out. Madison Keys has been mightily impressive thus far at Roland Garros, having not dropped a set on the surface she’s found the least success on. But remember she did the same thing in the first four rounds of the Australian Open this year, and then won just three games in her quarter-final against Angelique Kerber. At last year’s US Open, she stormed through her quarter-final and semifinal before winning just three games in the final. We’ve seen on occasions such as these how Madison lacks a plan B if her power game is not working. We’ve also seen her become overwhelmed by big occasions on the tennis court. Putintseva has not had the same success as Keys, but she’s a feisty competitor. And she’s been here before: she was a quarter finalist at the French Open just two years ago. In their only previous meeting, Putintseva prevailed in a final set tiebreak. That occurred on a hard court in Tokyo in 2016. While I’m not fully sure what to expect here, I will hesitantly lean towards Keys to give us an all-American semifinal, and a rematch from the US Open final against Sloane Stephens.
Novak Djokovic vs. Marco Cecchinato
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If there’s any quarter-final that should be smooth sailing, it’s this one. We have a 12-time major champion facing a man who had not won a match at a major prior to last week. While Djokovic may not be the same player today that won those 12 majors, he’s played well both in Rome as well as in his first four rounds in Paris. He’s had times where he’s been very negative on court this past week, especially during a particularly concerning racket smashing episode. But he’s still gotten through rather unscathed, dropping only one set to this point. Cecchinato though should not be undersold: he’s already defeated two top 10 seeds in this tournament. Still this a dream quarterfinal draw for a man trying to rediscover his mojo and get back to the top of the sport. Djokovic should win easily and save his energy for his ninth semifinal at Roland Garros.
Order of play
Court Philippe Chatrier
Start at 12:00
Dominic THIEM (AUT) [7] – Alexander ZVEREV (GER) [2]
Sloane STEPHENS (USA) [10] – Daria KASATKINA (RUS) [14]
Court Suzanne LENGLEN
Start at 12:00
Yulia PUTINTSEVA (KAZ) – Madison KEYS (USA) [13]
Marco CECCHINATO (ITA) – Novak DJOKOVIC (SRB) [20]
Court 1
Start on this and all other courts at 10:00
Juan Sebastian CABAL (COL) / Robert FARAH (COL) [5] – Oliver MARACH (AUT) / Mate PAVIC (CRO)[2]
Barbora KREJCIKOVA (CZE) / Katerina SINIAKOVA (CZE) [6] – Andreja KLEPAC (SLO) / María José MARTINEZ SANCHEZ (ESP) [3]
Gabriela DABROWSKI (CAN) / Mate PAVIC (CRO) [1] – Katarina SREBOTNIK (SLO) / Santiago GONZALEZ (MEX)
Rohan BOPANNA (IND) / Edouard ROGER-VASSELIN (FRA) [13] – Nikola MEKTIC (CRO) / Alexander PEYA (AUT) [8]
Court 6
Salma DJOUBRI (FRA) – Maria Camila OSORIO SERRANO (COL) [3]
Oksana SELEKHMETEVA (RUS) – Qinwen ZHENG (CHN) [11]
Clara BUREL (FRA) / Yasmine MANSOURI (FRA) [8] – Ania HERTEL (POL) / Lulu SUN (SUI)
Elisabetta COCCIARETTO (ITA) / Nika RADISIC (SLO) [5] – Julie BELGRAVER (FRA) / Loudmilla BENCHEIKH (FRA)
Court 7
Jesper DE JONG (NED) – Antoine CORNUT-CHAUVINC (FRA)
En-Shuo LIANG (TPE)[1] – Alice TUBELLO (FRA)
Giulia MORLET (FRA) / Diane PARRY (FRA) – Maria Lourdes CARLE (ARG) / Cori GAUFF (USA) [6]
Drew BAIRD (USA) / Nicolas MEJIA (COL) [4] – Arthur CAZAUX (FRA) / Titouan DROGUET (FRA)
Court 8
Carlos LOPEZ MONTAGUD (ESP) – Alexey ZAKHAROV (RUS)
Iga SWIATEK (POL) – Daniela VISMANE (LAT)
Eleonora MOLINARO (LUX) / Clara TAUSON (DEN) [1] – Selin OVUNC (TUR) / Stefania ROGOZINSKA DZIK (POL)
Elina AVANESYAN (RUS) / Maria TIMOFEEVA (RUS) – Gergana TOPALOVA (BUL) / Daniela VISMANE (LAT)
Court 9
Moyuka UCHIJIMA (JPN) – Xinyu WANG (CHN) [2]
Viktoriia DEMA (UKR) – Joanna GARLAND (TPE)
Mariam DALAKISHVILI (GEO) / Ana GELLER (ARG) – Elsa JACQUEMOT (FRA) / Olympe LANCELOT (FRA)
Andrew FENTY (USA) / Uisung PARK (KOR) [6] – Mathys ERHARD (FRA) / Lilian MARMOUSEZ (FRA)
Court 12
Nicolas ALVAREZ VARONA (ESP) – Chun Hsin TSENG (TPE) [4]
Uisung PARK (KOR) – Thiago SEYBOTH WILD (BRA)[8]
Admir KALENDER (CRO) / Carlos SANCHEZ JOVER (ESP) – Lorenzo MUSETTI (ITA) / Deney WASSERMANN (NED)
Margaryta BILOKIN (UKR) / Viktoriia DEMA (UKR) – Adrienn NAGY (HUN) / Lenka STARA (SVK)
Court 14
Adrian ANDREEV (BUL) [7] – Gilbert SOARES KLIER JUNIOR (BRA)
Timofey SKATOV (KAZ) [6] – Wojciech MAREK (POL)
Joao Lucas REIS DA SILVA (BRA) / Gilbert SOARES KLIER JUNIOR (BRA) – Adrian ANDREEV (BUL) / Keenan MAYO (USA)
Trey HILDERBRAND (USA) / Govind NANDA (USA) – Nicolas ALVAREZ VARONA (ESP) / Carlos LOPEZ MONTAGUD (ESP)
Court 15
Leylah Annie FERNANDEZ (CAN) [15] – Kamilla RAKHIMOVA (RUS)
Tristan BOYER (USA)[11] – Sergey FOMIN (UZB)
Andreea PRISACARIU (ROU) / Himari SATO (JPN) – Maria Camila OSORIO SERRANO (COL) / Xiyu WANG (CHN) [2]
Rudolf MOLLEKER (GER) / Alexey ZAKHAROV (RUS) – Jonas FOREJTEK (CZE) / Dalibor SVRCINA (CZE) [8]
Court 16
Lea MA (USA) – Elisabetta COCCIARETTO (ITA) [9]
Brandon NAKASHIMA (USA) – Rinky HIJIKATA (AUS)
Lea MA (USA) / Viktoria MORVAYOVA (SVK) – Sofya LANSERE (RUS) / Kamilla RAKHIMOVA (RUS)
Cannon KINGSLEY (USA) / Brandon NAKASHIMA (USA) – Jesper DE JONG (NED) / Yanki EREL (TUR)
Court 18
Arnaud CLEMENT (FRA) / Nicolas ESCUDE (FRA) – Yevgeny KAFELNIKOV (RUS) / Marat SAFIN (RUS)
Alex CORRETJA (ESP) / Juan Carlos FERRERO (ESP) – James BLAKE (USA) / Mark PHILIPPOUSSIS (AUS)
Not before 13:00
Irina BARA (ROU) / Mihaela BUZARNESCU (ROU) – Hao-Ching CHAN (TPE) [8]
