Day 6 in Paris is filled with intriguing matchups. But Court Suzanne-Lenglen is the place to be for the blockbuster matches of the day. Friday’s schedule on Roland Garros’ second biggest court includes eight seeded players competing for a spot in the round of 16. The Lenglen action is highlighted by a Wimbledon champion who is now a top contender for this title just a year after returning to the court from a career-threatening injury, as well as a 12-time major champion looking to win his first Grand Slam event in two years. Here’s a look at the four matches scheduled for Court Suzanne-Lenglen on Friday.
Novak Djokovic vs. Roberto Bautista Agut
Bautista Agut takes to the court amidst personal devastation in his life. As outlined by Brett Haber on Tennis Channel in the US, a year ago Roberto’s father suffered a debilitating stroke, with Roberto’s mother serving as his caretaker. Then just last week, his mother passed away suddenly. With his heart heavy, and playing with his family in mind, Bautista Agut has fought his way into the third round, where he’s actually the higher-seeded player than his all-time great opponent. Djokovic had his ups and down in his first two rounds: at times looking shaky and unsure of his shots, and at times playing with the swagger that has won him 12 majors. He’ll need to avoid the drops in his level at crucial times if he’s to advance passed Roberto. The Spaniard does not play a typical clay court style, with flatter groundstrokes than most of his countrymen. But Bautista Agut is a great competitor, and already has two titles in 2018, including a win over Juan Martin Del Potro in the Auckland final. Novak owns a 6-1 head-to-head against Roberto. If Djokovic is close to his best tennis self, he should prevail in what will likely be a tight contest.
Madison Keys vs. Naomi Osaka
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The first match of the day on Court Suzanne-Longlen is a rematch from a dramatic 2016 US Open third round affair. On that day in New York, Osaka held a 5-1 third set lead before choking away her lead. Their only other meeting was last year at Indian Wells, which Keys won comfortably. But Osaka has been the better player in 2018, with her breakout title in Indian Wells and subsequent upset of Serena Williams in Miami. In a battle of these two sluggers, the winner will likely be the player who makes less errors while still dictating play. Given their history, her experience edge, and her slightly better first serve, I say advantage Keys.
David Goffin vs. Gael Monfils
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This will be a fun one to watch in front of a Friday afternoon crowd in Paris. The movement and shot-making could be thrilling if both are on their games. They’ve split their four previous meetings, with Goffin winning the last two. And David has plenty of experience at besting Frenchmen in front of a French crowd, as he won both his singles matches against France in last year’s Davis Cup final. The oft-injured Monfils missed over a month of action this spring with a back condition. While the crowd should inspire Gael’s play, I still expect Goffin to pull this one out.
Petra Kvitova vs. Anett Kontaveit
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The last match of the day scheduled for Court Suzanne-Lenglen will see two of the hottest players on tour square off. Kvitova leads the WTA with 32 wins on the year, as well as a tour-leading four titles. She’s currently on a 13-match winning streak, coming off title runs in Prague and Madrid. Kontaveit is a 22-year-old Estonian now at a career-high ranking of 24th in the world. Just two weeks ago in Rome, Anett made her first Premier 5 semifinal, with impressive victories over CoCo Vandeweghe, Svetlana Kuzanetsova, Venus Williams, and Caroline Wozniacki. The week prior in Madrid was the last time these two players met, with Kvitova surviving a prolonged battle 6-3 in the third. Their other previous match also went to 6-3 in the third, and in Kvitova’s favor. Kontaveit has a lot of variety in her game, while Kvitova lacks much of a plan B if her big-hitting ways aren’t working. Petra will need to be on her game to survive another battle with this up-and-comer.
Order of play
Court Philippe-Chatrier
Play starts at 11am
Damir DZUMHUR (BIH) [26] vs Alexander ZVEREV (GER) [2]
Pauline PARMENTIER (FRA) vs Caroline WOZNIACKI (DEN) [2]
Lucas POUILLE (FRA) [15] vs Karen KHACHANOV (RUS)
Camila GIORGI (ITA) vs Sloane STEPHENS (USA)[10]
Court Suzanne-Lenglen
Play starts at 11am
Madison KEYS (USA) [13] vs Naomi OSAKA (JPN) [21]
Roberto BAUTISTA AGUT (ESP) [13] vs Novak DJOKOVIC (SRB) [20]
David GOFFIN (BEL) [8] vs Gael MONFILS (FRA) [32]
Petra KVITOVA (CZE) [8] vs Anett KONTAVEIT (EST) [25]
Court 1
Play starts at 11am
Fernando VERDASCO (ESP) [30] vs Grigor DIMITROV (BUL) [4]
Mihaela BUZARNESCU (ROU) [31] vs Elina SVITOLINA (UKR) [4]
Dominic THIEM (AUT) [7] vs Matteo BERRETTINI (ITA)
Robin HAASE (NED) & Matwe MIDDELKOOP (NED) vs Pierre-Hugues HERBERT (FRA) & Nicolas MAHUT (FRA) [6]
Court 18
Play starts at 11am
Daria KASATKINA (RUS) [14] vs Maria SAKKARI (GRE)
Kei NISHIKORI (JPN) [19] vs Gilles SIMON (FRA)
Marco CECCHINATO (ITA) vs Pablo CARRENO BUSTA (ESP) [10]
Court 3
Play starts at 11am
Sorana CIRSTEA (ROU) & Sara SORRIBES TORMO (ESP) vs Svetlana KUZNETSOVA (RUS) & Lucie SAFAROVA (CZE)
Marcelo AREVALO (ESA) & Jamie CERRETANI (USA) vs Federico DELBONIS (ARG) & Benoit PAIRE (FRA)
Calvin HEMERY (FRA) & Stephane ROBERT (FRA) vs Julio PERALTA (CHI) & Horacio ZEBALLOS (ARG) [15]
Lukasz KUBOT (POL) & Marcelo MELO (BRA) [1] vs R.CARBALLES BAENA (ESP) & G.GARCIA-LOPEZ (ESP)
Jamie MURRAY (GBR) & Bruno SOARES (BRA) [4] vs Maximo GONZALEZ (ARG) & Nicolas JARRY (CHI)
Court 6
Play starts at 11am
Yuki BHAMBRI (IND) & Divij SHARAN (IND) vs Oliver MARACH (AUT) & Mate PAVIC (CRO) [2]
Taylor TOWNSEND (USA) & Renata VORACOVA (CZE) vs Kiki BERTENS (NED) & Johanna LARSSON (SWE) [9]
M.RYBARIKOVA (SVK) & V.KUZMOVA (SVK) vs Nicole MELICHAR (USA) & Kveta PESCHKE (CZE) [13]
Gabriela DABROWSKI (CAN) & Mate PAVIC (CRO) [1] vs Pauline PARMENTIER (FRA) & Gregoire BARRERE (FRA)
Court 7
Play starts at 11am
Yulia PUTINTSEVA (KAZ) vs Qiang WANG (CHN)
Katerina SINIAKOVA (CZE) vs Barbora STRYCOVA (CZE) [26]
Venus WILLIAMS (USA) & Serena WILLIAMS (USA) vs Sara ERRANI (ITA) & Kirsten FLIPKENS (BEL)
Andrea SESTINI HLAVACKOVA (CZE) & Edouard ROGER-VASSELIN (FRA) vs Chloe PAQUET (FRA) & Benoit PAIRE (FRA)
Court 8
Play starts at 11am
Makoto NINOMIYA (JPN) & Ben MCLACHLAN (JPN) vs Latisha CHAN (TPE) & Ivan DODIG (CRO) [2]
Pablo CUEVAS (URU) & Marcel GRANOLLERS (ESP) [11] vs Steve JOHNSON (USA) & Jack SOCK (USA)
Juan Sebastian CABAL (COL) & Robert FARAH (COL) [5] vs Guido PELLA (ARG) & Diego SCHWARTZMAN (ARG)
Irina-Camelia BEGU (ROU) & Qiang WANG (CHN) vs Petra MARTIC (CRO) & Maria SAKKARI (GRE)
Court 9
Play starts at 11am
Nikoloz BASILASHVILI (GEO) & John MILLMAN (AUS) vs Nikola MEKTIC (CRO) & Alexander PEYA (AUT) [8]
Nadiia KICHENOK (UKR) & Anastasia RODIONOVA (AUS) [16] vs Yingying DUAN (CHN) & Aliaksandra SASNOVICH (BLR)
Anabel MEDINA GARRIGUES (ESP) & Arantxa PARRA SANTONJA (ESP) vs Hao-Ching CHAN (TPE) & Zhaoxuan YANG (CHN) [8]
Mihaela BUZARNESCU (ROU) & Henri KONTINEN (FIN) vs Yifan XU (CHN) & Oliver MARACH (AUT) [3]
Court 14
Play starts at 11am
Darija JURAK (CRO) & Donna VEKIC (CRO) vs Dalila JAKUPOVIC (SLO) & Irina KHROMACHEVA (RUS)
Viktorija GOLUBIC (SUI) & Nina STOJANOVIC (SRB) vs L.ARRUABARRENA (ESP) & K.SREBOTNIK (SLO)
Timea BABOS (HUN) [7] & Rohan BOPANNA (IND) vs Shuai ZHANG (CHN) & John PEERS (AUS)
Katarina SREBOTNIK (SLO) & Santiago GONZALEZ (MEX) vs Shuko AOYAMA (JPN) & Divij SHARAN (IND)
