Over the past three months, Iga Swiatek has dominated the WTA tour, more so than any player since Serena Williams. Swiatek has won 29 straight matches, and 5 straight titles. In the second round, she goes for her 30th consecutive win over American Alison Riske.
Thursday also sees other top seeds in second round action, such as Daniil Medvedev, Paula Badosa, and Stefanos Tsitsipas. And the women finally receive the spotlight of the night session, with two players who have a flair for the dramatic: France’s Alize Cornet, and 2017 champion Jelena Ostapenko.
Throughout the tournament, this preview will analyze the day’s five most prominent matches, while highlighting the other notable matches on the schedule. Thursday’s play begins at 11:00am local time.
Daniil Medvedev (2) vs. Laslo Djere – 12:00pm on Court Philippe Chatrier
Medvedev missed nearly two months of action due to hernia surgery, playing only one match on clay ahead of this event, yet still easily advanced on Tuesday. But in the second round, he faces a player who had some nice results on clay this season. Djere reached the semis of Marrakech, and thoroughly tested fellow Serbian Novak Djokovic in Belgrade. He’s also 1-0 against Medvedev, though that victory came five years ago, and with Medvedev retiring mid-match, back when he was ranked 184th in the world. Now the world No.2, Danill should be able to prevail over Djere despite his recent inactivity, and his aversion to this surface.
Frances Tiafoe (24) vs. David Goffin – Second on Court Simonne Mathieu
Following six first round losses at this event, which included four five-setters, Tiafoe finally earned his first French Open victory on Tuesday over Frenchman Benjamin Bonzi. Goffin has a much richer history at this tournament. It was 10 years ago when the Belgian made his Major breakthrough, advancing to the fourth round in his first main draw appearance at a Slam. Then in 2016, he was a quarterfinalist in Paris. Goffin missed much of 2021 due to injury, but has rebounded nicely in 2022, winning a clay court title last month in Marrakech. Tiafoe reached a clay final in Estoril, though he arrived in Paris on a three-match losing streak. David leads their head-to-head 3-1, and considering his far-better results at Roland Garros, he is a considerable favorite to make that 4-1 after what should be an entertaining battle.
Madison Keys (22) vs. Caroline Garcia – Second on Court Philippe Chatrier
After a dismal 2021 season, one in which Keys openly admits she lost the joy in her game, Madison had an excellent start this year. In January alone, the American won more matches than in all of 2021. Yet since reaching the quarterfinals of Indian Wells, Keys has again struggled, and is just 2-3 on clay. Garcia was a top five player less than four years ago, but over the last few seasons, has lost as many matches as she’s won. Prior to this event, Caroline missed the entire clay court season due to a foot injury. Keys is 2-1 against Garcia, and claimed their last two encounters in straight sets. Keys often peaks at the Majors: since 2015, she’s reached the second week of Slams 16 times. And with the pressure of the Parisian crowd weighing on an unconfident Garcia, I like Madison’s chances to be victorious.
Iga Swiatek (1) vs. Alison Riske – Third on Court Suzanne Lenglen
Swiatek has not only been winning a lot, she’s been winning extremely efficiently. Out of her 29 straight wins, 23 have been in straight sets. On Monday, she crushed Lesia Tsurenko 6-2, 6-0. And she is 2-0 against Riske, with both wins coming last season on clay. Riske was a Wimbledon quarterfinalist in 2019, when she upset then-world No.1 Ash Barty. But before this week, she was 1-7 lifetime at Roland Garros, and between 2019 and 2021, went 0-8 on clay. So another upset over a world No.1 on Thursday would be shocking. This should be another straightforward victory for Iga.
Jelena Ostapenko (13) vs. Alize Cornet – Not Before 8:45pm on Court Philippe Chatrier
Since her shocking run to the championship five years ago, Ostapenko is a meager 3-4 at this event, with three first-round losses. But she advanced easily on Tuesday, as did Cornet. And Alize coming off a huge milestone at the last Major, where she achieved her first Slam quarterfinal. This is Cornet’s 18th consecutive appearance at the French Open, where she owns a 20-17 record. She is vying to reach the third round for the first time in five years. They have split four previous meetings, all of which occurred on hard courts. Both players arrived in Paris on significant losing streaks: Cornet had lost four in a row, while Ostapenko had list five. But Alize can often thrive on big stages, and will surely relish the chance to play in the night session on Chatrier. An inspired effort from the Frenchwoman, and a boisterous French crowd, could easily get under the thin skin of Jelena. I would not be surprised to see Cornet prevail under the lights.
Other Notable Matches on Thursday:
Paula Badosa (3) vs. Kaja Juvan – Badosa easily won her opening round 6-2, 6-0. Juvan is a 21-year-old from Slovenia who was a finalist just last week on clay in Strasbourg.
Steve Johnson vs. Gilles Simon (WC) – Johnson defeated Jiri Vesely on Tuesday in four sets, while Simon upset Pablo Carreno Busta in a late-night, five-set thriller. The Frenchman took their only career meeting eight years ago in Tokyo.
Simona Halep (19) vs. Qinwen Zheng – Halep needed three sets to get past a qualifier on Tuesday. Qinwen dropped only four games in her first round contest. Earlier this season in the semifinals of an Australian Open tune-up event, Halep defeated Qinwen 6-3, 6-2.
Danielle Collins (9) vs. Shelby Rogers – The Australian Open runner-up is just 3-2 on clay this year, though Rogers was 0-3 on this surface coming into this event. They have split two previous meetings, both of which occurred last August.
Stefanos Tsitsipas (4) vs. Zdenek Kolar (Q) – Tsitsipas came back from two sets down to outlast Lorenzo Musetti on Tuesday. Kolar is a 25-year-old from the Czech Republic who defeated France’s Lucas Pouille in his first main draw match at a Major, after failing to qualify at 16 previous Slams.
Thursday’s full Order of Play is here.
