With three rounds completed, five of the top eight seeds remain in both the men’s and women’s draws. But upsets have abounded, with six players ranked outside the top 100 advancing to the fourth round.
The men’s finalists from the last two years, Rafael Nadal and Dominic Thiem, are just two wins away from a meeting in this year’s semifinals. Today both men will be huge favorites against an American qualifier and a French wild card. But the most intriguing ATP match of the day is the first of likely many battles between two Next Gen stars who have the potential to win Majors. Meanwhile, the women’s favorite faces stiff competition, in an impressive 19-year-old Polish teenager. And one of two Frenchwomen remaining in the draw looks to upend a seeded player for the third time this fortnight.
Elina Svitolina (3) vs. Caroline Garcia
A quarterfinalist here three years ago, Garcia is vying to equal that result at a Major for the first time since. Caroline has already taken out two top 20 seeds: Anett Kontaveit and Elise Mertens. And she’s 3-1 lifetime against Svitolina. However, their last meeting was two-and-a-half years ago, and Svitolina is the more improved player since that time. Elina reached her first two Major semifinals a year ago, and has won 14 of her last 15 matches. She was defeated soundly by Marketa Vondrousova in Rome, but rebounded quickly to win the title a week ago in Strasbourg. Garcia’s offensive skills have been on full display during the first week here, but they’ll be thoroughly challenged by the movement and counterpunching of Svitolina. The 1,000 French fans allowed on the grounds will surely almost all be inside Court Philippe-Chatrier for this one. But their energy may not be enough to overcome a confident Svitolina in these slow conditions.
Simona Halep (1) vs. Iga Swiatek
This is a rematch from this same round a year ago, when Halep dominated Swiatek. Simona needed just 45 minutes on that day to prevail 6-1, 6-0. And the 2018 champion comes into this match with a ton of momentum. Halep is 23-2 on the year, and is on a 17-match winning streak. She’s won her last three events played: Dubai, Prague, and Rome. Despite all that, Swiatek will be a tricky opponent. She has breezed through three rounds without dropping a set, averaging 29 winners to 17 unforced errors per match. And she’s won 29 of 37 points at net, an example of how versatile her game can be. This is Iga’s third appearance in the fourth round of a Major, though she’s yet to advance farther. While Halep remains the favorite, Swiatek should make this a much tighter affair than a year ago.
Sascha Zverev (6) vs. Yannik Sinner
It’s the 2018 ATP Finals champion against the 2019 Next Gen Finals champ. Zverev has rebounded rather nicely from the heartbreak he experienced 21 days ago in New York. The 23-year-old German is looking to reach the quarterfinals here for the third consecutive time. This is new territory for the 19-year-old Italian, who only owned one match win at a Major prior to this event. But Sinner has been extremely impressive thus far. He steamrolled David Goffin in the opening round, and is yet to drop a set. And Zverev is still prone to the service yips at times, like his second round match on Wednesday when he hit more double faults than winners. If he does that today, the crisp ball striking of Sinner will make him pay. The reward for the winner? A likely quarterfinal appointment with the King of Clay.
Rafael Nadal (2) vs. Sebastian Korda (Q)
Nadal is 96-2 at Roland Garros. Yet today he faces a man who is undefeated in the main draw of the French Open. However, that’s burying the lead: the 20-year-old Korda has only played three main draw matches here. But that doesn’t make what Sebastian has done this past week unimpressive. The son of 1998 Australian Open champion Petr Korda, the American had previously never won a match at a Slam. He’ll most certainly be outmatched today by the 12-time champion on Rafa’s favorite court. Despite playing only three matches leading up to this event, Nadal has looked sharp, and hasn’t dropped a set. But I’m curious to see how the youngster accounts for himself in this high-profile situation
Dominic Thiem (3) vs. Hugo Gaston (WC)
Is Gaston ready to upset another big-hitting former champion? The 20-year-old Frenchman, ranked 239th in the world, shocked 2015 champion Stan Wawrinka two days ago in five sets. Hugo had never before won a tour level match prior to this fortnight, so this is a huge accomplishment for the left-hander. But upsetting an in-form Thiem, who won his first Major three weeks ago, is another story. Like Nadal, Thiem has also won all nine sets he’s played. And Dominic hasn’t lost here prior to the semifinals since since 2015. If Thiem wins today, he may face his close friend Diego Schwartzman in the next round.
Other Notable Matches on Day 8:
Rome runner-up Diego Schwartzman (12) vs. Lorenzo Sonego, a 25-year-old Italian who is making his debut in the fourth round of a Slam.
2016 semifinalist Kiki Bertens (5) vs. Martina Trevisan (Q), a 26-year-old Italian who had never won a match at a Major prior to this past week. She’s already upset Coco Gauff and Maria Sakkari in this tournament.
Two-time Major doubles champion Barbora Krejcikova vs. Nadia Podoroska (Q), a 23-year-old Argentine who has only dropped one set in six matches played since the qualifying rounds.
In a women’s doubles match featuring two players still alive in singles, Veronika Kudermetova and Shuai Zhang (8) vs. Sofia Kenin and Bethanie Mattek-Sands (9).
In men’s doubles, Four-time Major champions Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut (6) vs. Wesley Koolhof and Nikola Mektic, who were finalists last month at the US Open.
Sunday’s full schedule is here.
