French Number One Lucas Pouille is down two sets to Karen Khachanov, while French Veteran Gael Monfils split the first two sets with David Goffin. And in two matches that are yet to begin, Petra Kvitova will take on Anett Kontaveit in a match outlined in yesterday’s preview, while US Open Champion Sloane Stephens faces the always dangerous Camila Giorgi.
Just how crowded is the Saturday schedule? To the befuddlement of many, Simona Halep, the world number one, has been placed on Court 18. A juicy preview could be written about pretty much any match throughout Day 7, but here are the four contests scheduled for Saturday that I’ll be watching most closely as the day progresses.
Kyle Edmund vs. Fabio Fognini
Court Suzanne-Lenglen will start the day with this battle of top 20 seeds. There’s no history to go off between these two: this will be their first career meeting. 2018 has been a breakout year for Edmund, the new British number one. He reached his first major semifinal in Melbourne, which included victories over Kevin Anderson and Grigor Dimitrov. He’s also impressed on the clay this year, starting with a run to the final in Marrakech. Edmund then defeated both David Goffin and Novak Djokovic in Madrid. Fognini usually plays his best on the clay, as he’s shown again in 2018. The Italian won the title in Sao Paulo, and played an excellent first set against Rafael Nadal in Rome. Fabio has gotten to the third round at the French Open six times, but has gone 1-5 at this stage. Edmund has been the more dependable performer this year, so I’ll give him the nod in what could easily be a four or five set marathon. The conclusion of the Goffin/Monfils third round will take place directly following this match.
Karolina Pliskova vs. Maria Sharapova
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From there, I suggest directing your attention to Court Philippe-Chatrier for this slugfest, which will follow the conclusion of Pouille versus Khackanov. Sharapova has played some of her best tennis in years over the past few weeks, but is she ready for this step up in competition? Perhaps she is, as in Rome she survived an epic 3-plus hour battle against a similar big ball-striking opponent, Jelena Ostapenko. Pliskova is a semifinalist in Paris from last year, and comes into Roland Garros with a lot of confidence on the clay. After taking the title in Stuttgart, she ousted Victoria Azarenka, Sloane Stephens, and Simona Halep in Madrid. In their only previous meeting, Sharapova prevailed in the 2015 Fed Cup final. I’m not fully sure what to expect in this one, but the bigger groundstrokes and stronger will should win out. The winner has a tough draw ahead of them, as they’ll face the winner of the next match in today’s preview, with Garbine Muguruza possibly waiting in the quarterfinals.
Serena Williams vs. Julia Goerges
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Heading back over to Court Suzanne-Lenglen, this match will be fourth-on. Serena is looking more and more like her old self with each match this week, and her doubles play with sister Venus is helping her form. But it’s also tiring her out, as her coach, Patrick Mouratoglou, stated earlier this week. While Serena is 2-0 against Goerges, they haven’t played in seven years, and both are much different players today. Julia went on a 15-match winning streak between the end of 2017 and the beginning of this year. Goerges can also play on clay: she made the final earlier this year in Charleston with victories over three top 25 players. But the 29-year-old has not been a player to shine at the majors. Julia has never been farther than the fourth round at any Grand Slam event. If Serena has enough fuel left in her tank, I expect her power, presence, and fighting spirit to bring her to victory.
Juan Martin Del Portro vs. Albert Ramos-Vinolas
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This is the final match of the day on Court Philippe-Chatrier. Many of us doubted whether Del Potro would even play at this tournament following a groin injury in Rome just two weeks ago. After losing a dismal first set in his opening round, Del Potro stormed through six straight sets against French veterans Nicolas Mahut and Julien Benneteau. Juan Martin was the hottest player in the world a few months ago, and he’ll need to play close to his best to get the better of Ramos-Vinolas on this surface. He’ll be forced to hit a few extra shots to close out points against this Spanish clay court specialist. Ramos-Vinolas advanced to the quarterfinals in Paris two years ago, and the fourth round in 2017. This will be a much bigger test for Del Potro. They’ve only met once, but that doesn’t have much relevance here as it was five years ago on grass. In an open quarter of the draw, this match will reveal if Juan Martin Del Potro can be considered for a deep run in this tournament.
Order of play
Court Philippe-Chatrier
Play starts at 11am
Garbiñe MUGURUZA (ESP) [3] vs Samantha STOSUR (AUS)
Not before 12pm
Lucas POUILLE (FRA) [15] vs Karen KHACHANOV (RUS) – To be completed: Khachanov leads 6-3 7-5 1-1
Maria SHARAPOVA (RUS) [28] vs Karolina PLISKOVA (CZE) [6]
Rafael NADAL (ESP) [1] vs Richard GASQUET (FRA) [27]
Albert RAMOS-VINOLAS (ESP) [31] vs Juan Martin DEL POTRO (ARG) [5]
Court Suzanne-Lenglen
Play starts at 11am
Fabio FOGNINI (ITA) [18] vs Kyle EDMUND (GBR) [16]
Not before 12pm
David GOFFIN (BEL) [8] vs Gael MONFILS (FRA) [32] To be completed: Goffin leads 6-7(6) 6-3 3-2
Irina-Camelia BEGU (ROU) vs Caroline GARCIA (FRA) [7]
Julia GOERGES (GER) [11] vs Serena WILLIAMS (USA)
John ISNER (USA) [9] vs Pierre-Hugues HERBERT (FRA)
Court 1
Play starts at 11am
Petra KVITOVA (USA) [8] vs Anett KONTAVEIT (EST) [25]
Mischa ZVEREV (GER) vs Kevin ANDERSON (RSA) [6]
Marin CILIC (CRO) [3] vs Steve JOHNSON (USA)
Angelique KERBER (GER) [12] vs Kiki BERTENS (NED) [18]
Court 18
Play starts at 11am
Camila GIORGI (ITA) vs Sloane STEPHENS (USA) [10]
Diego SCHWARTZMAN (ARG) [11] vs Borna CORIC (CRO)
Simona HALEP (ROU) [1] vs Andrea PETKOVIC (GER)
Court 3
Play starts at 11am
Raven KLAASEN (RSA) & Michael VENUS (NZL) [10] vs Nikola MEKTIC (CRO) & Alexander PEYA (AUT) [8]
Not before 12pm
Jamie MURRAY (GBR) & Bruno SOARES (BRA) [4] vs Maximo GONZALES (ARG) & Nicolas JARRY (CHI) – To be completed: Gonzalez/Jarry lead 3-2
Timea BABOS (HUN) & Kristina MLADENOVIC (FRA) [1] vs Nao HIBINO (JPN) & Oksana KALASHNIKOVA (GEO)
Anna-Lena GROENEFELD (GER) & Robert FARAH (COL) [8] vs Alla KUDRYAVTSEVA (RUS) & Nikola MEKTIC (CRO)
Court 6
Play starts at 11am
Raquel ATAWO (USA) & Anna-Lena GROENEFELD (GER) [11] vs Eri HOZUMI (JPN) & Makoto NINOMIYA (JPN)
Kaitlyn CHRISTIAN (USA) & Carina WITTHOEFT (GER) vs Gabriela DABROWSKI (CAN) & Yifan XU (CHN) [5]
L.KUBOT (POL ) & M.MELO (BRA) [1] vs Rohan BOPANNA (IND) & Edouard ROGER-VASSELIN (FRA) [13]
Gabriela DABROWSKI (CAN) & Mate PAVIC (CRO) [1] vs Pauline PARMENTIER (FRA) & Gergoire BARRERE (FRA) – To be completed: Parmentier/Barrere lead 6-4 1-4
Court 7
Play starts at 11am
Magdalena RYBARIKOVA (SVK) [19] vs Lesia TSURENKO (UKR)
Maximilian MARTERER (GER) vs Jurgen ZOPP (EST)
Daria GAVRILOVA (AUS) [24] vs Elise MERTENS (BEL) [16]
Court 9
Play starts at 11am
Jennifer BRADY (USA) & Vania KING (USA) vs Kateryna BONDARENKO (UKR) & Aleksandra KRUNIC (SRB)
Daniele BRACCIALI (ITA) & Andreas SEPPI (ITA) vs Henri KONTINEN (FIN) & John PEERS (AUS) [3]
Anastasia PAVLYUCHENKOVA (RUS) & Samantha STOSUR (AUS) vs Andrea SESTINI HLAVACKOVA (CZE) & Barbora STRYCOVA (CZE) [2]
Irina-Camelia BEGU (ROU) & Qiang WANG (CHN) vs Andreja KLEPAC (SLO) & María José MARTINEZ SANCHEZ (ESP) [3]
Court 14
Play starts at 11am
Leonardo MAYER (ARG) & Joao SOUSA (POR) vs Feliciano LOPEZ (ESP) & Marc LOPEZ (ESP) [12]
Latisha CHAN (TPE) & Bethanie MATTEK-SANDS (USA) [4] vs Irina BARA (ROU) & Mihaela BUZARNESCU (ROU)
Barbora KREJCIKOVA (CZE) & Katerina SINIAKOVA (CZE) [6] vs Tatjana MARIA (GER) & Heather WATSON (GBR)
Abigail SPEARS (USA) & Juan Sebastian CABAL (COL) vs Yifan XU (CHN) & Olivier MARACH (AUT) [3]
