Last April, the tennis world was stunned when Toni Nadal began working with Felix Auger-Aliassime. A year later, it is still quite odd to see Uncle Toni sitting in a player’s box for anyone other than his nephew. While Toni has stated he will not be in Felix’s box when he faces Rafael Nadal on Sunday, it will still be fascinating to watch his new player take on Rafa.
And we are perhaps just one round away from the highly-anticipated quarterfinal between Nadal and Novak Djokovic. But first, Nadal must overcome Auger-Aliassime, and Djokovic has to beat Diego Schwartzman. And for the second straight round, 19-year-old sensation Carlos Alcaraz gets the spotlight of the night session, as he plays Karen Khachanov.
Sunday is also filled with many enticing women’s singles matchups. In a rematch of an emotional affair in Indian Wells, US Open runner-up Leylah Fernandez takes on Roland Garros semifinalist Amanda Anisimova. And US Open champ Sloane Stephens faces Jil Teichmann, who survived a nearly three-and-a-half hour battle against Victoria Azarenka on Friday.
Throughout the tournament, this preview will analyze the day’s five most prominent matches, while highlighting the other notable matches on the schedule. Sunday’s play begins at 11:00am local time.
Leylah Fernandez (17) vs. Amanda Anisimova (27) – 12:00pm on Court Philippe Chatrier
Three months ago in Indian Wells, Anisimova was leading Fernandez 6-2, 5-4 when the match completely turned around. Amanda failed to convert four set points, eventually losing the second set tiebreak 7-0. A distraught Anisimova promptly retired without playing the third set, packing her bags and leaving the court in tears. Amanda later explained she had been feeling sick for several days heading into that match. The sudden exit of her new coach Darren Cahill just days prior, citing burnout and flying back to Australia, certainly couldn’t have helped her state of mind. Yet the American has persevered and performed extremely well this clay court season. She’s gone 13-3, and has reached the quarterfinals at every clay event she’s played. By contrast, Leylah had a losing record this season on clay ahead of this tournament. But as she often she does, the 19-year-old Canadian has fought her way to this stage, gritting out a tight match on Friday against Belinda Bencic 7-5 in the third. Yet on this surface, Anisimova is the favorite to avenge what was a painful loss in tennis paradise.
Novak Djokovic (1) vs. Diego Schwartzman (15) – Second on Court Suzanne Lenglen
Five years ago in the third round of this event, Schwartzman thoroughly tested Djokovic, and was up two-sets-to-one. But Novak prevailed in the end, as he has every time they’ve played. Overall Djokovic leads their head-to-head 6-0, which includes three matches on clay. These players have been two of the ATP’s best on clay for many years now, and a compelling contest with dynamic rallies is almost guaranteed. But another thing which seems almost definite is another Novak victory on Sunday. There’s just not much Diego has in his arsenal that can threaten the world No.1 and defending champion.
Rafael Nadal (5) vs. Felix Auger-Aliassime (9) – Third on Court Philippe Chatrier
Their only previous encounter also occurred on clay, when Nadal was victorious 6-3, 6-3 at the 2019 Madrid Masters. And of course, the King of Clay is a huge favorite to defeat Auger-Aliassime again on Sunday. Clay is not Felix’s strong suit, as he owned a losing record on this surface prior to this season, and was winless at this tournament until this past week. Even if Uncle Tony dispenses some sage wisdom regarding how to combat Rafa’s game, it would be shocking if Felix can upset the 13-time champion.
Jil Teichmann (23) vs. Sloane Stephens – Fourth on Court Suzanne Lenglen
Stephens arrived in Paris on a five-match losing streak, but the 2018 runner-up is now just one win away from reaching her third French Open quarterfinal. Teichmann is vying for her first quarterfinal at any Slam, as she was 3-10 lifetime at the Majors prior to this tournament. However, the 24-year-old from Switzerland has enjoyed much success outside of the Slams this past year. She was a surprise finalist last August in Cincinnati, and is now a stellar 11-3 on clay this season. She reached the quarters in Rome, and the semis in Madrid. Jil is currently at a career-high ranking of No.24, and would move into the top 20 with a victory on Sunday. Stephens and Teichmann have never played before. Sloane is the much more experienced player at big events, and should be the fresher player on the day, as Jil is coming off her third-set tiebreak victory over Azarenka. But Teichmann is the player with so much more confidence this clay court season, and should be favored to make her Major breakthrough.
Carlos Alcaraz (6) vs. Karen Khachanov (21) – Not Before 8:45pm on Court Philippe Chatrier
Alcaraz recovered nicely from a four-and-a-half hour, five-set battle in the second round, comfortably prevailing in straight sets on Friday over Sebastian Korda, who remains the only player to defeat Carlitos this year on clay. The Spaniard is now 31-3 in 2022, and 19-1 on this surface. Khachanov came into this tournament with little momentum. Karen was 15-13 on the year, and just 4-5 on clay. But the 26-year-old loves playing in Paris. He’s now advanced to the fourth round or better in four of the last five years. And his biggest career title also came in this city, at the indoor event in Bercy. But in their first career encounter, Alcaraz is a significant favorite to achieve his second Major quarterfinal. Carlitos is the far more in-form player, and he’ll be hyper-focused on avoiding another letdown after needing to save match point on Wednesday against Albert Ramos-Vinolas.
Other Notable Matches on Sunday:
Aliaksandra Sasnovich vs. Martina Trevisan – Sasnovich has already defeated twoMajor champions (Kerber, Raducanu), though has never advanced beyond the fourth round of a Slam. Trevisan is yet to drop a set, and was a quarterfinalist here two years ago. This is their first career meeting.
Coco Gauff (18) vs. Elise Mertens (31) – Gauff is vying for her second consecutive Roland Garros quarterfinal. Mertens has advanced to the third round or better at this event for six straight years, but is yet to reach the quarterfinals. Last June on the grass of Eastbourne, Coco defeated Elise 7-5 in the third.
Sascha Zverev (3) vs. Bernabe Zapata Miralles (Q) – After saving match point in the second round, Zverev prevailed in straights on Friday. Zapata Miralles is a 25-year-old qualifier from Spain who only owned one main draw win at a Major prior to this fortnight. This is another first-time matchup.
Sunday’s full Order of Play is here.
