On Monday, Iga Swiatek goes for her 32nd consecutive win. But up-and-coming 19-year-old Qinwen Zheng stands in her way. And the fourth round itself has been a challenging hurdle for Swiatek in her young career, as Iga is only 3-5 at this stage of the Majors.
Men’s fourth round singles action on Monday sees the ATP’s new generation on display. The average age of the eight players in this half of the draw is 24, with the outlier being 2014 US Open champion Marin Cilic. In Monday’s night session, he takes on 2021 US Open champ Daniil Medvedev.
Throughout the tournament, this preview will analyze the day’s five most prominent matches, while highlighting the other notable matches on the schedule. Monday’s play begins at 11:00am local time.
Casper Ruud (8) vs. Hubert Hurkacz (12) – Second on Court Suzanne Lenglen
After coming back from a set down to send Jo-Wilfried Tsonga into retirement on Tuesday, Ruud survived a grueling five-setter on Saturday against Lorenzo Sonego. Hurkacz has spent considerably less time on court, winning all three of his matches in straight sets. Ahead of this season, the 25-year-old from Poland had never earned a winning record on clay. But in 2022, he’s acclimated nicely to this surface, with a record of 9-3. Hubi was a quarterfinalist in both Monte Carlo and Madrid, and is looking to equal that result here. Of course Ruud is a far more accomplished clay court player, with seven career titles on the surface, two of which came this year. Having won the event in Geneva the week before this tournament, Casper is on a seven-match win streak. However, he’s yet to reach a Major quarterfinal, while Hurkacz was a semifinalist at last year’s Wimbledon. In their first career encounter, Ruud seems due for a Major breakthrough, and should be favored on this surface.
Stefanos Tsitsipas (4) vs. Holger Rune – Second on Court Philippe Chatrier
Tsitsipas played far from his best tennis in the first two rounds, as he required nine sets to advance. But he found his game on Saturday, easily dismissing Mikael Ymer 6-2, 6-2, 6-1. Rune is a teenager on a quick and steep rise. The 19-year-old started the year ranked outside the top 100, but thanks to a Challenger title and an ATP title (both on clay) as well as this run, Holger is on the verge of breaking into the top 30. He’s another player who has not dropped a set this fortnight, which includes an impressive victory over Denis Shapovalov in the first round. And this is another first-time matchup on the day, with no head-to-head history to speak of. Tsitsipas was just one set away from this title a year ago, and appears to have gotten over some early-round nerves. He remains the favorite on Monday, but I expect Rune to provide him with a stern test.
Iga Swiatek (1) vs. Qinwen Zheng – Third on Court Philippe Chatrier
Swiatek is now an amazing 40-3 in 2022, and is playing for her sixth consecutive title. In her first three rounds in Paris, she’s averaged only two games lost per set. Can the Chinese teenager be the first player to challenge her? Qinwen owned just one victory at a Slam prior to this fortnight, yet has earned 20 match wins this season at all levels. As per Christopher Clarey of The New York Times, Zheng was once nicknamed “Fire,” as she is a big ball striker. We have not yet seen what she is fully capable at this event, as her last two opponents were deterred by health issues. This is yet another first-time encounter, though the two did practice together not long ago. Despite her fourth round stumbles at recent Majors, and Qinwen’s formidable groundstrokes, Swiatek should be able to advance to her third consecutive Roland Garros quarterfinal.
Andrey Rublev (7) vs. Jannik Sinner (11) – Fourth on Court Suzanne Lenglen
The last match of the day on Lenglen will be a battle of the gingers. They have played three times, all within the last two years. The first time they met, Rublev prevailed after Sinner retired just three games into the match. But the last two times they’ve faced off, which have both been on clay, Jannik has been victorious. Last year in Barcelona, he won in straights. And last month in Monte Carlo, the Italian won in three. These players have nearly identical records on the year: Rublev is 28-7, and Sinner is 27-6. On clay, Rublev is 10-3, while Sinner is 11-3. And both players are now multi-time Major quarterfinalists. But based on their recent history, and Andrey’s continued hot-tempered outbursts, Jannik should be favored. You’ll almost never witness Sinner get outwardly frustrated on-court, much less allow it to impact his play. And he’s advanced rather comfortably to the round of 16, unlike Rublev, who has dropped a set in each of his matches, and is coming off an exhausting battle with Cristian Garin in the last round.
Daniil Medvedev (2) vs. Marin Cilic (20) – Not Before 8:45pm on Court Philippe Chatrier
In the third round of last July’s Wimbledon, these US Open champions had quite the tussle. Cilic won the first two sets, but Medvedev came back to win in five. And that’s been the result all three times they’ve played: a Medvedev victory. They also met three years ago in Washington, as well as six months ago in Davis Cup. Yet on this surface, which Medvedev has no love for, this is a good opportunity for Cilic to earn his first win, especially considering Daniil recently had hernia surgery, And while clay isn’t Marin’s best surface either, he is a two-time French Open quarterfinalist. However, I still give the world No.2 the edge to use his superior defensive skills on this slower surface to reach his second straight quarterfinal in Paris.
Other Notable Matches on Monday:
Daria Kasatkina (20) vs. Camila Giorgi (28) – Kasatkina has steamrolled the competition through three rounds, dropping only 10 games across six sets. Giorgi upset Sabalenka in the last round, claiming 12 of the last 13 games. Two years ago in Lyon, Daria’s guile overcame Giorgi’s power in three sets.
Madison Keys (22) vs. Veronika Kudermetova (29) – Keys defeated Elena Rybakina on Saturday in a third-set tiebreak. On the same day, Kudermetova upset an injured Paula Badosa. This is Veronika’s first appearance in the fourth round of a Major, while it’s Madison’s 17th. This is their first career meeting.
Jessica Pegula (11) vs. Irina-Camelia Begu – Pegula isvying for her second consecutive Slam quarterfinal. Begu is looking for her first, in her 41st appearance in the main draw of a Major. Earlier this year at an Australian Open tune-up event in Melbourne, Begu defeated Pegula in straight sets.
Monday’s full Order of Play is here.
