Fourth round singles action concludes on Monday in Paris.
Day 9 boasts a quartet of matches in the round of 16 where the seedings have held, making for some high-profile encounters. Elena Rybakina, Sascha Zverev, Daniil Medvedev, and Casper Ruud will all face tough opposition on Monday.
Plus, top-seeded Novak Djokovic and second-seeded Aryna Sabalenka also play seeded players in their fourth round contests.
Throughout the tournament, this preview will analyze the day’s four most prominent matches, while highlighting the other notable matches on the schedule. Monday’s play gets underway at 11:00am local time.
Elina Svitolina (15) vs. Elena Rybakina (4) – 11:00am on Court Philippe-Chatrier
It was a year ago when Svitolina came roaring back from maternity leave, winning the title in Strasbourg the week before this event, then advancing to the quarterfinals in Paris. She is now a four-time quarterfinalist at Roland Garros, with three semifinal appearances at Majors on other surfaces. But her results have tapered off during 2024, as she was just 4-4 on clay coming into this tournament.
Rybakina has cruised into this fourth round encounter without dropping a set, bringing her record on the year to a stellar 33-5, with three titles. She made her Major quarterfinal debut here three years ago, when she upset Serena Williams in the round of 16, but Elena is yet to equal that feat in Paris.
While Rybakina is clearly the more in-form and imposing player, Svitolina leads their head-to-head 2-1. They’ve met once on each surface, with Svitolina prevailing on clay and hard, and Rybakina prevailing on grass. Their last encounter was an extremely important one: the bronze medal match at the Tokyo Olympics. Svitolina came from behind multiple times in that match to win 6-4 in the third, securing the bronze medal for herself, and preventing Rybakina from standing on the podium.
But three years later, Rybakina has become a dominant force on tour. Her powerful ball striking should enable her to dictate play, and to avenge a painful loss against Svitolina.
Alex de Minaur (11) vs. Daniil Medvedev (5) – Second on Court Suzanne-Lenglen
Get ready for some extremely grueling and complex rallies in this one, between two of the ATP’s best defenders. Medvedev is vying for his second Roland Garros quarterfinal, while de Minaur is vying for just his second Major quarterfinal overall. The round of 16 at Slams has become a huge hurdle for Alex, as he holds a record of 1-6 in this round. And his only victory came in an empty stadium at the 2020 US Open.
Medvedev is now 27-7 this season, and 9-3 on clay. During the first week of this event, he won two four-setters, and he received a mid-match retirement in the second round. De Minaur has lost just one set to this stage, against a tough opponent in Jan-Lennard Struff. Alex is 28-10 this season, and 9-4 on clay, so these two players have very similar records on the year.
Daniil is 6-2 against Alex, with all eight matches taking place on hard courts. While clay is far from Medvedev’s favorite surface, he had a huge edge in big match success over de Minaur, and that 1-6 record in the fourth round of Majors looms large for the Australian. I like Daniil’s chances of returning to the French Open quarterfinals.
Taylor Fritz (12) vs. Casper Ruud (7) – Fourth on Court Suzanne-Lenglen
Anytime Ruud has advanced beyond the fourth round of a Slam, he’s gone all the way to the championship match. He’s looking to do so for the third straight year in Paris. But Casper has not played his best this fortnight, requiring five sets to beat Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, and four sets against Tomas Martin Etcheverry.
Fritz has endured an even more complicated path to this round of 16 matchup, playing 13 out of a possible 15 sets. In the last round, he let a two-set lead slip away against Thanasi Kokkinakis, before prevailing 6-3 in the fifth. A win on Monday would give Taylor a career set of quarterfinal appearances at the Majors, which is what Grigor Dimitrov achieved on Sunday.
Their only previous meeting was an extremely tight one, with Ruud claiming a final-set tiebreak at the 2022 ATP Finals by a score of 8-6. While Fritz is in the midst of his best clay court season to date, Ruud is still a solid favorite on this surface.
Sascha Zverev (4) vs. Holger Rune (13) – Not Before 8:15pm on Court Philippe-Chatrier
Zverev was extremely close to exiting this event on Saturday, eventually winning a fifth-set tiebreak against Tallon Griekspoor. He has now advanced to the second week of this tournament for seven consecutive year. Sascha continues to play while a trial is ongoing in Germany regarding domestic abuse charges against him.
Rune also used a fifth-set tiebreak to escape near-defeat during the first week, against Italy’s Flavio Cobolli. Holger took his other two matches in straight sets. In his third appearance at Roland Garros, he is playing to reach the quarterfinals for the third time.
Their only prior meeting also took place on clay, with Rune upsetting Zverev two years ago in the German’s home country. But Sascha is definitively the more in-form player, as the Rome champion is currently on a nine-match winning streak, while Holger went just 6-4 on clay before arriving in Paris. And with a record of 5-1 in this round of this event, Zverev should be favored to reach his sixth French Open quarterfinal.
Other Notable Matches on Monday:
Elina Avanesyan vs. Jasmine Paolini (12) – This is a second consecutive appearance in the fourth round of a Major for Paolini, and the second consecutive time in this round of Roland Garros for Avanesyan, as both now look to make their debut in a Slam quarterfinal. This is their first career meeting.
Emma Navarro (22) vs. Aryba Sabalenka (2) – Both of these players are yet to drop a set, with Navarro notably taking out Madison Keys in the last round. Just a few months ago in Indian Wells, Emma upset Aryna 6-2 in the third, in their only prior encounter.
Novak Djokovic (1) vs. Francisco Cerundolo (23) – How will Djokovic bounce back from a five-setter against Lorenzo Musetti that became the latest finish in French Open history? Cerundolo notched an impressive four-set win over Tommy Paul on Saturday. This is another first-time matchup.
Varvara Gracheva vs. Mirra Andreeva – Here’s another first career meeting, between two more WTA players looking to achieve a new career milestone: a Major quarterfinal. And both have already eliminated significant names from this tournament: Gracheva defeated Maria Sakkari, while Andreeva defeated Victoria Azarenka.
Monday’s full Order of Play is here.
