Rafael Nadal underwent a pre-birthday surgery on his left psaos while Carlos Alcaraz prepares to take on Lorenzo Musetti at Roland Garros.

Starting with Nadal, the 22-time Grand Slam champion underwent arthroscopic surgery on his left psaos in order to resolve the injury that he suffered at the Australian Open.

Nadal is expected to find out the results on his birthday, today, as he looks to begin his road to recovery.

It was last month in Mallorca that Nadal announced that he won’t be returning to the tour until later this year with next season potentially being his final year on tour.

Time will tell whether Nadal will be ready as he is set to leave the world’s top 100 later this year.

The Spaniard’s main goal is to compete at next year’s Paris Olympics at Roland Garros as he would love to finish career on a high note.

Alcaraz Prepares For Musetti ‘Challenge’

Meanwhile at Roland Garros, world number one Carlos Alcaraz will look to take Nadal’s crown as he is into the second week in Paris.

Alcaraz convincingly defeated Denis Shapovalov 6-1 6-4 6-2 on Philippe-Chatrier on Friday evening.

A dominant performance saw him set up a clash with Lorenzo Musetti with the Italian thrashing Cameron Norrie in the third round.

In his post-match press conference Alcaraz has admitted it will be a challenging match against the in-form 17th seed, “Well, it’s a big challenge for me. You know, he’s playing great. He has beaten really tough players, you know,” the Spaniard said.

“Yeah, he’s a really talented player. I remember the match in Hamburg. It was really, really tough. Yeah, this is a match that I really looking for, really want to play that match.

“I’m gonna enjoying, because it’s gonna be a really fun match. I would say it’s gonna be really good rallies, good shots between us, and of course is gonna be a really fun match to watch, as well.”

The match Alcaraz is referring to is the Hamburg final last year where Musetti claimed victory in a stunning three set match.

That was their only meeting so far as the two will clash on Sunday for a place in the quarter-finals of Roland Garros.

Third round singles action concludes on Saturday in Paris.

In what could be the first of many battles between two of tennis’ most promising young stars, 19-year-old Coco Gauff will face 16-year-old Mirra Andreeva.  And the top two American men, Taylor Fritz and Frances Tiafoe, take on considerable opposition in Francisco Cerundolo and Sascha Zverev, respectively.   

Throughout the tournament, this preview will analyze the day’s four most prominent matches, while highlighting the other notable matches on the schedule.  Saturday’s play begins at 11:00am local time.

Mirra Andreeva (Q) vs. Coco Gauff (6) – Second on Court Suzanne-Lenglen

Gauff is 21-8 on the year despite changes to her coaching team and some continued issues with the mechanics of her game, primarily her forehand and serve.  She was the runner-up here a year ago, losing 6-1, 6-3 in the final to Iga Swiatek.  Coco dropped the first set in her opener, but has easily secured her four sets played since.

Andreeva is ranked 143^rd in the world, but she started the year 312^th.  She is an excellent 22-2 at all levels, including qualifying.  Mirra has taken all 10 sets she’s played since the beginning of qualifying last week.  The tennis world first took notice of her earlier this clay court season in Madrid, when she upset Leylah Fernandez, Beatriz Haddad Maia, and Magda Linette to reach the fourth round.

On Saturday, I would not be shocked to witness Andreeva upset Gauff.  Coco has not been playing her best tennis of late, going just 3-3 on clay ahead of this fortnight.  And she has the pressure of defending finalist points on her young shoulders.  But Gauff has a big game, and certainly has a huge edge in experience, both of which should be enough to propel her to victory.

Francisco Cerundolo (23) vs. Taylor Fritz (9) – Third on Court Suzanne-Lenglen

It will be quite interesting to see and hear how the French crowd treats Fritz on Saturday after provoking, trolling, and shushing the audience on Thursday evening.  Taylor may live to regret that decision, as the French tennis fans have long memories, and love to involve themselves in matches.  Fritz is now a strong 31-11 this season, and looking to advance to the second week of this tournament for the first time.

Cerundolo is 22-14 this year, and 15-9 on clay.  All three of his career ATP finals have come on this surface, including just last week in Lyon. 

So what will prevail on Saturday: Taylor’s serving prowess, or Francisco’s formidable forehand?  In another first career meeting on the day, I give the American the slight edge.  While the crowd will be against him, he is much more experienced at this stage of a Major.  Prior to this year, Cerundolo was 0-4 in the main draw at Slams.

Bianca Andreescu vs. Lesia Tsurenko – Third on Court Simonne-Mathieu

Andreescu’s victory over Victoria Azarenka in the first round was quite a surprise.  Bianca was just 9-9 on the year, and 0-2 on clay, a surface where she only owns 14 career victories.  She has unfortunately suffered setback after setback since her amazing 2019 season, yet continues to try to fight her way back to the top of the sport.

Tsurenko, a Ukrainian, has been open regarding how hard it has been to play on tour for the last year-and-a-half.  She even withdrew from Indian Wells in March, after having a panic attack which she blamed on unsettling comments from WTA CEO Steve Simon regarding Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.  But Lesia is now a superb 27-8 this season at all levels, and eliminated 2021 champion Barbora Krejcikova in the first round.

Their only prior encounter occurred earlier this year on a hard court in Hua Hin, when Tsurenko was leading 7-5, 4-0 in the semifinals before Andreescu retired from the match.  And on Saturday, I lean towards Lesia to prevail again based on both players’ form this season.

Sascha Zverev (22) vs. Frances Tiafoe (12) – Not Before 8:15pm on Court Philippe-Chatrier

Tiafoe is 23-8 in 2023, and while clay is not his strongest surface, he did win a 250-level title at the start of the clay season in Houston.  Frances was just 1-7 lifetime at Roland Garros before this week, at the only Major where he’s yet to reach the second week.

Of course it was at this event a year ago when Zverev suffered that gruesome, upsetting ankle injury in the semifinals against Rafael Nadal, ending his 2022 season.  He is yet to rediscover his top form this year, with a modest record of 18-14.  But Sascha did claim his first two matches this week in straight sets.

Zverev has dominated their history, with a 6-1 edge.  However, they haven’t played in over 18 months, and Tiafoe and Zverev are both different players than they were in 2021.  Yet on this surface, Sascha should be favored to advance after an extended battle on Saturday night.

Other Notable Matches on Saturday:

Elena Rybakina (4) vs. Sara Sorribes Tormo – It’s hard to find two more polar opposite styles: the power of Rybakina, and the grinding defense of Sorribes Tormo.  Neither player has dropped a set to this stage, and Sara took their only previous meeting, two years ago on a hard court in Miami.

Zhizhen Zhang vs. Casper Ruud (4) – Ruud has not repeated his great success from 2022 during 2023, with an 18-11 record to date.  Zhizhen made his big breakthrough earlier this year in Madrid, where he won three consecutive third-set tiebreaks over Denis Shapovalov, Cam Norrie, and Taylor Fritz.  He is the first Chinese man to win a match at the French Open in 86 years, as he and Wu Yibing continue to break new ground for Chinese tennis.

Ekaterina Alexandrova (23) vs. Beatriz Haddad Maia (14) – This is the farthest Haddad Maia has ever advanced at a Major.  This is Alexandrova’s sixth time in the third round of a Slam, but she’s yet to go farther.  They’ve played twice before in qualifying for events in 2017, with Beatriz winning both matches.

Iga Swiatek (1) vs. Xinyu Wang – Swiatek won her first two matches by the same score: 6-4, 6-0.  And Iga is 4-0 in the third round of Roland Garros.  Xinyu is also yet to lose a set, in her best performance at a Major to date.

Saturday’s full Order of Play is here.

Novak Djokovic’s quest for a 23rd Grand Slam title continues after a tough 7-6(4) 7-6(5) 6-2 win over Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.

The Serb won an epic straight sets match which lasted just over three hours and 35 minutes.

Djokovic overcame a physical first two sets which lasted two hours and 47 minutes before racing through the third set.

Next for Djokovic is Juan Pablo Varillas as the Peruvian defeated Hubert Hurkacz in five sets.

The opening two sets saw a battle take shape as both players grinded away from the baseline.

Davidovich Fokina’s clean hitting from the baseline earned him the first break for a 3-2 lead before Djokovic retaliated as he converted his third break point of the game.

There was a mix of long rallies and entertaining shot-making as Davidovich Fokina forced Djokovic into uncomfortable positions on the court.

The Spaniard’s all-court game earned him another break as Djokovic was making too many mistakes in big points.

However Davidovich Fokina once again fell short in the longer rallies when it really mattered as the pressure got to the Spaniard as Davidovich Fokina couldn’t close out the opening set.

Djokovic’s experience paid off as he forced a tiebreak and played his best tennis when it mattered the most as he won seven of the eleven points on offer to take the opening set in 85 minutes.

If that opening set wasn’t brutal enough, the second set was another war of attrition as both competitors pushed each other to its limits.

Djokovic couldn’t convert three break points in the opening game and was ultimately punished as Davidovich Fokina’s consistent all-court game saw him take a 2-0 lead.

Once again the Spaniard couldn’t keep his lead as Djokovic played his best tennis when behind in the score as the Serb took a 3-2 lead.

The 22-time Grand Slam champion was a break twice before Davidovich Fokina played aggressive return games to recover the break back on both occasions.

Another physical set of tennis would be decided by a tiebreak, which Davidovich Fokina originally had control of.

In the end Djokovic won the last three points to pump up the Philippe-Chatrier crowd, ending another 85 minute set.

From then on it was all Djokovic’s as the third set lacked intensity and saw Djokovic storm to victory.

After the match Djokovic told the Parisian crowd that he knew it was going to be a physical match, “I knew it was going to be a difficult match, a physical match,” Djokovic was quoted by the BBC as saying.

“He competed very well, he’s an amazing fighter and an amazing player. There are not many weaknesses in his game and he played a great match. A win is a win. I thought if I lost the second set we would probably play five hours today.

“You have to be ready, that is what Grand Slam tennis is all about. It takes a lot of effort but you have to believe in yourself. I am proud of the performance today for sure.

“Three hours for two sets is obviously a lot. It required a lot of energy and my priority now is to recover. Tomorrow I will have a day off and I’ll be ready to play again.”

Djokovic will now prepare for his last 16 match against Juan Pablo Varillas on Sunday with a spot in the quarter-finals on the line.