French Open Day 8 Preview: Five Must-See Matches

On the men’s side, the three most prolific male champions of the Open Era all remain. Roger, Rafa, and Novak will all be heavy favorites in their fourth round matches, but the other five men’s contests are blockbusters. On the women’s side, we’re in the midst of a youth movement. As per WTA Insider, this is the first Grand Slam event in a decade where three teenagers advanced to the round of 16. And despite the exits yesterday of Serena Williams and Naomi Osaka, Major champions Garbine Muguruza, Sloane Stephens, and Simona Halep are still here.

Sloane Stephens (7) vs. Garbine Muguruza (19)

It’s the 2016 champion facing the 2018 finalist. These two streaky players have only met twice before, splitting two matches played on hard courts. Stephens was certainly the player with more momentum at the start of this tournament, as Muguruza arrived in Paris with a 2-2 clay record on the year. But Muguruza has looked sharper with every round in the past week, and she has reached the quarters or better here in four of the last five years. Both women should be feeling a lot of pressure today, as the winner will be a strong favorite to go all the way to the final in an open half of the draw. This surface would assumedly favor Sloane, who moves better and has stronger defense than Garbine. I like Stephens’s chances to advance here, and favor her to return to the finals for the second straight year.

Stefanos Tsitsipas (6) vs. Stan Wawrinka (24)

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This will be their first meeting, and should be a good one. Both men needed two days to finish their third round matches due to darkness, though they should be pretty fresh after playing for only about an hour yesterday. The 20-year-old has easily been the better player over the past year, with nearly twice as many wins as the 2015 champion. Wawrinka though played extremely well in week 1, and seems primed to legitimately challenge Tsitsipas. The winner here will likely face Roger Federer on Tuesday, and either man will have a good chance against the 20-time Major champion.

Donna Vekic (23) vs. Johanna Konta (26)

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This is a rematch from a classic these two played at Wimbledon in 2017, where Konta prevailed 10-8 in the third. That was just a few weeks after Vekic had defeated Konta 7-5 in the third in the final of Nottingham. Overall they’re 3-3 lifetime, and have never played on clay. Johanna had never won a match at this tournament prior to this year, but she gained a lot of confidence on this surface in the month prior, with 10 clay court wins. The 22-year-old Vekic has seemed ready for a breakthrough for some time now, but it’s yet to materialize. This is only her second appearance in the fourth round of a Major. While Vekic impressed by easily dispatching of Belinda Bencic on Friday, Konta is the more proven big match player, and is the favorite here.

Kei Nishikori (7) vs. Benoit Paire

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As Ravi Ubha outlined on Twitter, Nishikori said of Paire, “For me he has the best backhand on the tour.” That’s a startling statement, but shows the respect Kei has for Benoit’s game. Nishikori leads their head-to-head 6-2, with Paire’s two wins coming in 2015 on hard courts. They also played in the second round of this event last year, when Kei survived a five-setter. Nishikori also prevailed in their other clay court meeting. The 29-year-old barely got to this point, as he was down two breaks in the fifth to Laslo Djere two days ago. Paire also survived an extended five-setter this past week, but got a break in his last round when Pablo Carreno Busta retired after the third set. With this being the last match of the day on Court Suzanne-Lenglen, the French crowd will be boisterously behind Paire as he vies to reach his first Major quarterfinal. But Kei remains a tough out even when he’s tired, and I suspect he’ll find a way through this one.

Anastasija Sevastova (12) vs. Marketa Vondrousova

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Speaking of extended matches, Sevastova endured a thrilling one on Friday. The 29-year-old from Latvia saved five match points before prevailing 11-9 in the third over Elise Mertens. She’s now advanced to the fourth round or better at each of the last three Majors. Her 19-year-old opponent has now equaled her best result at a Slam from last year’s US Open, and continues to make a definitive impression on tour. Vondrousova already owns two wins this year over Simona Halep, and was a finalist at the clay event in Istanbul back in April. With her run here, she’s projected to debut in the top 30 next Monday. The left-hander possesses a lot of variety in her game, though not quite the variety of the unique Sevastova. In their first career meeting, I give the slight edge to better-rested Vondrousova to reach her first Major quarterfinal.

Other notable matches on Day 8:

• Rafael Nadal (2) vs. Juan Ignacio Londero, a 25-year-old from Argentina who was winless at Slams prior to this event.
• Roger Federer (3) vs. Leonardo Mayer, a more accomplished Argentine who owns two clay court titles. But as reported by Enrique Quique Cano, Mayer is dealing with a left leg tear.
• Petra Martic (31) vs. Kaia Kanepi. Kanepi is a six-time Major quarterfinalist, while Martic is 0-4 in the round of 16 at Grand Slam events.

Order of play

Court Philippe-Chatrier (10am BST)

Kaia Kanepi (EST) vs [31] Petra Martic (CRO)

Leonardo Mayer (ARG) vs [3] Roger Federer (SWI)

Juan Ignacio Londero (ARG) vs [2] Rafael Nadal (SPA)

Sloane Stephens (USA) [7] vs [19] Garbine Muguruza (ESP)