Following yesterday’s troublesome weather at Roland Garros, six matches will take place today. All four men’s quarter-finals will get underway as well as the two women’s matches. World No.1 Andy Murray faces a tricky task against Kei Nishikori, who he leads 8-2 in their head-to-head. Elsewhere, former champion Stan Wawrinka takes on Marin Cilic in what could be a closer than expected encounter. Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic will also feature and their matches has already been previewed.
Karolina Pliskova remains the highest seed left in the women’s draw. The Czech, who had never progressed beyond the second round of the tournament before this year, will face home player Caroline Garcia in what will be a test of nerves. Simona Halep is bidding to win her first major title. The Romanian faces a tough task against Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina. Recently the two clashed in the final of the Italian Open, where Svitolina triumphed in three sets.
Andy Murray vs. Kei Nishikori
These two played an epic five-set match at last year’s U.S. Open, with Nishikori prevailing 7-5 in the fifth. But Murray has dominated their career head-to-head, winning eight of ten encounters. The world #1 seems to have found the best form of his season in his last two matches, while Nishikori looked less than stellar is his last two rounds. Kei’s body is also known to break down, and it can’t be feeling 100% after playing nine sets in two matches, with his third round spread across two days. Let’s hope these two give us another thriller in a quarterfinal where Murray enters as the favorite.
Stan Wawrinka vs. Marin Cilic
Both men have yet to drop a set in this tournament, though Wawrinka’s road has been a bit more difficult as Cilic has not faced a seeded player. That being said, Cilic’s victories have been clinical, as no opponent has won more than three games in a set. Wawrinka holds an impressive 11-2 record against Cilic, with Marin’s last victory coming over seven years ago. This is Cilic’s first French Open quarter-final, and clay is his weakest surface. Stan is the smart pick, but don’t count Cilic out considering his recent form. Let’s not forget how he shocked everyone by storming through the 2014 U.S. Open draw.
Karolina Pliskova vs. Caroline Garcia
It’s easy to see this quarterfinal going either way. They have split their four previous meetings, with Garcia winning their only match on clay. But that was in 2015, and Pliskova is a much better player now. In fact, Karolina is just two wins away from becoming the new #1 player in the world. Will she find motivation in that, or feel the weight of the pressure? Unlike Pliskova, Garcia has never played in a match this late at a major, much less in her home country. How will Caroline react to that? Pliskova openly admits she does not love playing on clay, but she has a lot more big match experience than Garcia. Pliskova also has the bigger ground strokes, so if she’s on, she can dictate the outcome. This will be an intriguing match in a Davis Cup-like atmosphere.
Simona Halep vs. Elina Svitolina
This is the quarterfinal matchup many anticipated since the draw was released, and the winner will be the favorite to win this title. Svitolina has been the hottest player on the WTA tour in 2017, winning four titles and leading the year-to-date rankings. Halep is a former French Open finalist who has finished the past three years ranked inside the top four. When these two met in the Rome final a few weeks ago, Halep had the advantage until injuring her ankle, allowing Svitolina to come back and take the title. Elina may draw confidence from that victory, but Simona will feel she would have won if not for rolling her ankle. Halep has looked very good in Paris and has not dropped a set, while Svitolina was down 2-5 and 0-30 against unseeded Petra Martic in her last match before storming back to win. An escape like that can often free up players to play well in their next match, but Halep must still be favored in what should be a great match.
