Third round singles matches begin on Friday, the first day where seeded players run into each other in the draws.
12-time champion Rafael Nadal is 95-2 at this tournament, and it would be shocking if he were to lose today against an unseeded opponent. But the favorite on the women’s side faces a tough test, in the player who knocked her out of this tournament a year ago. In addition, the top remaining Frenchwoman tries to take out another top 20 seed. On the men’s side, the winner of the most recent Major takes on this season’s winningest player on clay. And the runner-up from that last Major will face the most surprising Slam semifinalist in recent tennis history.
Simona Halep (1) vs. Amanda Anisimova (25)
Last year in the quarterfinals, the American teenager upset the 2018 champion 6-2, 6-4. That was Anisimova’s breakthrough, reaching her first Major semifinal. Just a few months later, Amanda suffered the sudden loss of her father. While the 19-year-old is yet to equal her result from this event a year ago, she remains a talented teenager with a huge upside. And she’s still very capable of defeating top players. That was evident earlier this year in Doha, where Anisimova beat Elina Svitolina in straight sets. But Halep is clearly the WTA’s best player this season, with a 22-2 record, three titles, and a current 16-match winning streak. While Simona will remember how dangerous Amanda can be on this court, she’ll also come into this match with a better idea of how to expose her weaknesses. Halep should be able to avenge her loss from a year ago.
Dominic Thiem (3) vs. Casper Ruud (28)
This will be the first career meeting between two of the ATP’s best clay courters. The US Open champion is a two-time runner-up here, and has reached the semifinals or better the last four years. And 10 of Thiem’s 17 career titles have come on this surface. Ruud is 16-4 on clay this season, advancing to the semifinals or better at every clay event he’s played. While Casper is coming off a five-set win against Tommy Paul in the last round, that’s about as brisk a five-setter as you’ll see, clocking in at just over two-and-a-half hours. So the 21-year-old should be fully fresh for this match. But upsetting a man who over the past four years at this event has only lost to players named Nadal or Djokovic is a tall task.
Elise Mertens (16) vs. Caroline Garcia
Caroline Garcia achieved her only Major quarterfinal here three years ago, and peaked at No.4 in the world a year later. After a rough two years saw her fall as low as No.50, she’s showing signs of her prior form. Garcia upset Karolina Pliskova at the US Open, and took out Anett Kontaveit this past Sunday. Today she faces one of the WTA’s most consistent performers. Mertens has reached at least the quarterfinals at six events in this shortened season, including two weeks ago on the clay of Rome. Elise’s defensive skills will force Garcia to hit a few more balls today than the Frenchwoman may prefer. While both their previous meetings were on hard courts, Garcia claimed them both. On her country’s biggest court, with a French crowd cheering her on, a rejuvenated Caroline has the ability to make it 3-0 against Mertens if she stays aggressive and hits her targets. But Mertens’ variety often drags some subpar tennis out of bigger hitters like Garcia, as we saw at the US Open when she defeated Sofia Kenin. Neither result would be surprising in what should be one of the day’s more closely contested matches.
Sascha Zverev (6) vs. Marco Cecchinato (Q)
Two years ago at this event, Cecchinato made a shocking run to the semifinals of this event, defeating three top 10 seeds: Pablo Carreno Busta, David Goffin, and Novak Djokovic. Until this week, that was the only time the 28-year-old Italian had won a match at a Major, going 0-12 in the first round of every other Slam played. That includes a loss at this year’s Australian Open to Zverev, their only prior encounter. Sascha must still be reeling from the heartbreaking loss in his first Slam final just a few weeks ago. And he continues to involve himself in extended matches early in Majors. On Wednesday, he went five sets and nearly four hours with Pierre-Hugues Herbert. While Zverev remains a favorite to advance, this match has an unpredictability vibe considering the players involved.
Elina Svitolina (3) vs. Ekaterina Alexandrova (27)
Not many people are talking about the third seed as a contender here, but that could be an unforced error. Even though Svitolina has endured some tough losses at this event in the past, she reached two Major semifinals last year. And she can play on the clay: Elina owns five career titles on this surface, including just last week in Strasbourg. Today will be the first time she faces the 25-year-old Russian, who was a champion earlier this year in Shenzhen. But most of Alexandrova’s success has come on other surfaces. Ekaterina has a losing record on clay over the last two years. Svitolina’s more all-around game is preferable on clay, and should carry her to another victory on this surface today.
Other Notable Matches on Day 6:
Rafael Nadal (2) vs. Stefano Travaglia, a 28-year-old Italian who defeated Kei Nishikori in five sets on Wednesday.
Three-time Major champion Stan Wawrinka (16) vs. Hugo Gaston, the only Frenchman remaining in the draw who is ranked 239th in the world.
Kiki Bertens (5) vs. Katerina Siniakova. Bertens survived a dramatic affair with Sara Errani two days ago, where Kiki cramped and left the court in a wheelchair after sealing match point. Siniakova is a two-time Major doubles champion, who has split two previous meetings with Bertens.
19-year-old Iga Swiatek vs. Genie Bouchard, who has advanced to the third round of a Major for the first time in almost four years.
Rome runner-up Diego Schwartzman (12) vs. Norbert Gombos, a 30-year-old Slovakian who until a month ago had never won a match at a Slam.
Friday’s full schedule is here.
