Title contenders Simona Halep and Andy Murray will be bidding for places in the quarter-finals of the French Open on Monday. Halep will be first up when she takes on Spain’s Carla Suarez Navarro, a strong clay-court player that have reached the last eight at Roland Garros on two previous occasions. The Romanian will be the strong favourite, but she has been hindered by a problem with her ankle in recent weeks. World No.1 Andy Murray will play Nextgen star Karen Khachanov in what will be their first meeting. Experience should be enough to guide the Brit to the win, but it may not be as simple as he hopes. Elsewhere at the tournament, local fans will be treated to an all-French clash in the women’s draw.
Four matches to follow on Day 9
Simona Halep vs. Carla Suarez Navarro
Court Philippe-Chatrier will be the place to be on Day 9, as it features what should be four stellar matches. Halep played extremely well on Saturday against Daria Kasatkina. She appears to be fully recovered from her ankle injury, and is a favorite to win this tournament. Suarez Navarro is a former top 10 player who has struggled recently, with almost as many losses as wins in 2017. Like many Spaniards, clay is Carla’s best surface. The head-to-head between these two is extremely tight at 6-5 in favor of Halep, but most notably Halep has never beaten Suarez Navarro in four previous meetings on clay. Halep cannot afford a drop in her level of play in this matchup, or afford to get down on herself as she often does.
Andy Murray vs. Karen Khachanov
This has been a breakout tournament for Khachanov, with upsets over Tomas Berdych and John Isner on the way to his first major round of 16. It’s been an impressive run by the 21-year-old Russian in only his third major appearance. Khachanov can definitely play on the clay, as earlier this year in Barcelona he defeated three strong clay court players in Thomaz Bellucci, Pablo Cuevas, and David Goffin. Murray played some of his best tennis of the year in taking out Juan Martin Del Potro on Saturday, and will be strongly favored in this first meeting between the two. I am eager to see how Khachanov performs in his first match on Court Philippe-Chatier against the world #1.
Stan Wawrinka vs. Gael Monfils
Here we have the battle of the Good to Great Academy, as these friends are both coached by founders of the Swedish tennis academy. Coached by Magnus Norman, Wawrinka told L’Equipe last year that he himself actually helped connect Monfils with Coach Mikael Tillstrom. These friends are 2-2 head-to-head, but have not played since 2011 and have never met on clay. Wawrinka has been in great form through his first three rounds, and is yet to drop a set. Stan has had a lot more success at majors than Monfils, and will be favored in what should be a fun round of 16 contest.
Caroline Garcia vs. Alize Cornet
These fellow countrywomen will compete for a spot in the quarterfinals, and the two French women do not get along. Cornet threw some shade Garcia’s way when Caroline withdrew from Davis Cup action earlier this year. Garcia cited an injury for the withdrawal, but doubts concerning the validity of the injury were made public by Cornet as well as a few other French teammates. It will be interesting to see if the French crowd favors either player. Oddly the only other time these two faced off was also in France, with Garcia winning on clay in Marseille back in 2010. There will be a lot of nerves and emotions involved as both women try to reach their first major quarterfinal.
