13-time champion Rafael Nadal will play 19-year-old Jannik Sinner, while 2016 champion Novak Djokovic takes on 19-year-old Lorenzo Musetti. A third “Big Three” versus Italy matchup was also scheduled for Monday, but Roger Federer’s unfortunate decision to withdraw has given Matteo Berrettini a walkover into the quarterfinals.
The only remaining French Open champion in women’s singles is defending champ Iga Swiatek, who will face 18-year-old Marta Kostyuk for the first time. Last year’s runner-up, Sofia Kenin, will play Greece’s Maria Sakkari, who defeated Kenin earlier this year. And 17-year-old Coco Gauff looks to reach her first Major quarterfinal, but 2020 Australian Open quarterfinal Ons Jabeur will not be an easy out.
Monday’s play will begin at 11:00am local time on all courts except Chatrier, which starts at 12:00pm.
Coco Gauff (24) vs. Ons Jabeur (25) – 12:00pm on Court Philippe-Chatrier
This will be their fourth meeting in less than a year. Two months ago on the green clay of Charleston, Jabeur defeated Gauff 6-3, 6-3. Last September in Rome, Coco prevailed in straight sets. And last August in Lexington, Coco prevailed in three sets. Gauff has advanced extremely comfortably through three rounds, and received a retirement from Jen Brady after taking the first set on Saturday. Jabeur dropped the second set of her third round match against Magda Linette by a score of 6-0, though recovered nicely to win in three. Coco is now on an eight-match win streak, coming off a title run in Parma right before this fortnight. However, other than an injured Brady, that run hasn’t included any victories over a top 30 player. And Gauff continues to have some service woes, striking 14 double faults and only five aces through three rounds. Jabeur is a fierce adversary, with a vast assortment of weapons in her game. And she’s had an excellent clay court season, with a record of 13-3. But on this day, the power, speed, and confidence of Gauff may be enough to reach her maiden Slam quarterfinal. After a year of disappointing results at Majors, this feels like Coco’s time.
Novak Djokovic (1) vs. Lorenzo Musetti – Second on Court Philippe-Chatrier
This should be fun. Musetti has quickly proven himself to be not only an elegant ball striker, but also a rugged competitor. After upsetting David Goffin in the first round, he backed up that win with a thrilling five-set victory over fellow Italian Marco Cecchinato, who was a semifinalist here in 2018. That was Musetti’s first-ever five-set match. And I do not get the impression Lorenzo is the type of player to be overwhelmed by the momentous occasion of playing the 18-time Major champion in the biggest match of his career to date. I expect Musetti to thoroughly challenge Djokovic, especially with his stellar one-handed backhand. But unfortunately for the Italian, Novak is currently in top form. Dating back to his title run two weeks ago in Belgrade, he’s claimed seven straight matches, and hasn’t been pushed beyond of a score of 6-4 in this tournament. Djokovic has never lost in the fourth round of Roland Garros (14-0), and it would be quite surprising if that changed on Monday.
Sofia Kenin (4) vs. Maria Sakkari (17) – Third on Court Suzanne-Lenglen
It was the first week of this season when Sakkari took out Kenin in Abu Dhabi, promptly winning the final 10 games of the match after going down a set and a break. Their other two encounters both occurred in 2018, and both went to Kenin in three. It’s been a rough year for Kenin, but she’s displayed a lot of heart and determination in advancing this far, particularly in a solid win over Jessica Pegula two days ago. Sakkari was also involved in quite the tussle on Saturday, overcoming Elise Mertens after three hard-fought sets. The 25-year-old is now looking to reach her first Major quarterfinal. Kenin impressively struck 48 winners against Pegula, though Sakkari notched 53 against Mertens. I’m interested to see which player can better assert their offensive game and control rallies, but movement and defense might be the deciding factor, especially on this surface. I give the slight edge to Sakkari based on recent form.
Rafael Nadal (3) vs. Jannik Sinner – Not before 4:00pm on Court Philippe-Chatrier
This is a rematch from last autumn’s quarterfinals at this event. On that day, Sinner served for the first set, but failed to close it out, and was soundly defeated in straights. When they met again a few weeks ago in Rome, it was a bit tighter, but Rafa won 7-5, 6-4. Nadal has now claimed 32 consecutive sets at the French Open, dating back to the 2019 final. However, I think that streak will come to an end at the hands of Sinner. Jannik improved his form with each match last week, and seems poised to provide the King of Clay with a true test. Of course, we’re talking about Rafael Nadal and Roland Garros, so predicting a Sinner upset would be careless. But a four or five set battle feels completely plausible.
Iga Swiatek (8) vs. Marta Kostyuk – Not before 9:00pm on Court Philippe-Chatrier
Speaking of reigning Roland Garros champions who have forgotten how to lose sets in Paris, Swiatek has won her last 20. And yesterday in doubles, she played one of the most intoxicating matches of the year, as her and partner Bethanie Mattek-Sands saved an astounding seven match points to overcome Su-Wei Hsieh and Elise Mertens after over three hours. That surely drained considerable physical and emotional energy out of Iga, though she’s fully fit and should be rather fresh, especially with this match scheduled in the night session. However, her opponent today could be quite challenging. Kostyuk is making her debut at this stage of a Major, yet got here without dropping a set. She’s a former Australian Open junior champion, and is close friends with Paula Badosa, who is also enjoying her breakout Slam. After defeating an injured Garbine Muguruza in the first round, Marta will play for her second-career top 20 win. The Ukranian seems to be on the verge of further success, though that may have to wait for another tournament. The way Swiatek has been playing, I would not bet against her.
Other Notable Matches on Monday:
Barbora Krejcikova vs. Sloane Stephens – Like Swiatek, Krejcikova is still alive in both singles and doubles. The 25-year-old has now reached two consecutive fourth rounds at the French Open. Stephens has already taken out two other top Czech players: Karolina Pliskova and Karolina Muchova. This is their first career meeting.
Diego Schwartzman (10) vs. Jan-Lennard Struff – Schwartzman has been dominant thus far, not dropping a set. He’s vying for his third Roland Garros quarterfinal in four years. Struff has never been farther than this round at a Major, but he’s got plenty of momentum, winning six straight sets since upsetting Andrey Rublev in the first round. They’ve split two previous matches, with the clay clash going to Schwartzman.
Nicole Melichar and Demi Schurrs (3) vs. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and Elena Rybakina – Melichar and Schurrs are two-time champions this season. Pavlyuchenkova and Rybakina will face each other in the singles quarterfinals on Tuesday.
Monday’s full schedule is here.
