French Open Day 3: Five Must-See Matches - UBITENNIS

French Open Day 3: Five Must-See Matches

Will there be any more shocks in store for the seeds at Roland Garros on Tuesday?

By Adam Addicott
13 Min Read

Title contenders and crowd favourites will take to the court on the third day of the French Open. World No.1 Naomi Osaka plays her first match as she looks to continue her recent dominance in the grand slams. Meanwhile, defending champion Simona Halep is targeting her second consecutive title in Paris. In the men’s draw, Alexander Zverev and Juan Martin del Potro will be hoping to get off to a strong start.

Naomi Osaka Vs Anna Karolína Schmiedlová

World No.1 Osaka will kick off her French Open campaign on Tuesday as she bids to become the first woman to win three consecutive grand slam titles since Serena Williams back in 2015. The top seed has endured a mixed past few weeks on the clay. She reached the semi-finals in Stuttgart, before withdrawing from the tournament due to an abdominal injury. Following on from that, she reached the quarter-finals in both Madrid and Rome, but also withdrew from Rome due to a right-hand injury.

Osaka’s first test will be Anna Karolína Schmiedlová. A former top 30 player from Slovakia, who has lost in the first round at Roland Garros the past three times. Schmiedlová looked set to have a stellar 2019 season after reaching the final of her first tournament at the Hobart International in January. However, since then she has only managed to win four main draw matches on the tour.

Despite Osaka’s recent injury woes, her opening match should be relatively straightforward. Uless Schmiedlová manages to find the form which has eluded her in recent months. This year is Osaka’s fourth appearance in the main draw of the tournament.

Alexander Zverev Vs John Millman

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Fresh off winning his first title of the season in Geneva last week, Zverev will be hoping to continue that form in the French capital. Despite the German’s success on the ATP Tour, he is yet to score a breakthrough in a grand slam. Although, Zverev’s best performance in a major was a run to the quarterfinals of the French Open 12 months ago.

The fifth seed faces Australia’s John Millman, who could give him a run for his money. Clay may not be Millman’s best surface, but he is known as a fighter on the court. So far this season, he has achieved a win-loss record of 13-15 on the tour and is yet to win two consecutive matches on the clay in 2019. Furthermore, Millman is yet to win a match at the tournament.

Zverev is expected to progress to the second round as long as he maintains his consistency. Over recent months the 21-year-old has enjoyed a turbulent time due to issues both on and off the court, but is the more skilful all round player of the two. He should come through, but don’t be surprised if he drops a set on route.

Simona Halep Vs Ajla Tomljanović

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Defending champion Halep has already been backed to win another French Open title by former champions such as Justine Henin. The Romanian has already reached one final on the clay this season, which was at the Madrid Open. However, a week later she lost her opening match in Rome to Markéta Vondroušová.

Hoping to cause a major shock is Australia’s Ajla Tomljanović. It was four years ago at the tournament where she stunned Agnieszka Radwanska on route to the fourth round. Her best ever run at a grand slam to date. Since then, her progression on the tour has been blighted by injury. Tomljanović has the potential to trouble big players, illustrated by her win over Aryna Sabalenka earlier this season, but consistency is her problem.

Halep feels at home when playing at the Roland Garros and should be able to tame any threat posed by Tomljanović. The two locked horns last year in Cincinnati with the world No.3 prevailing in three sets. However, this time round Halep has a bigger advantage of playing on the clay against the Australian.

Juan Martin del Potro Vs Nicolas Jarry

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Former US Open champion del Potro could face a stern test in his first round clash. The Argentine is playing in only his fifth tournament of the season after missing part of it due to a knee injury. Nevertheless, he has illustrated that he still has the ability to take on the very best in the world. Taking Novak Djokovic to three sets in an epic encounter at the Italian Open earlier this month.

Del Potro’s challenge comes from Nicolas Jarry in what will be an all-South American clash. 23-year-old Jarry feels at home on the clay and was a former French Open finalist in the boys doubles competition back in 2013. So far in his career, he has won three Challenger and six Futures titles. All of which have been achieved on the clay. More recently, he reached the final of the Geneva Open last week before being edged out by Zverev.

Experience could play a crucial role in this clash, which will favour Del Potro. The biggest question is if Jarry can continue his recent surge in form. The Chilean has been inconsistent on the tour in recent months, but has a fresh burst of confidence. Something Del Potro needs to watch out for in order to avoid a shock exit.

Jelena Ostapenko Vs Victoria Azarenka

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In the battle of the former grand slam champions, Victoria Azarenka is hoping to triumph in her first ever meeting with Jelena Ostapenko. The two-time Australian Open winner has also reached the quarterfinals of a duo of clay-court events this season, as well as the final of the Monterrey Open. However, her last win at the French Open was all the way back in 2015 and it is her worst performing grand slam in terms of wins achieved.

2017 champion Ostapenko is still trying to find that spark to light up her season. The Latvian has previously blamed her lacklustre start to the year on an injury which hampered her preparation for the off-season back in December. In total, she has only managed to win seven out of 22 matches played so far this year (including Fed Cup).

The edge has to be given to Azarenka in this intriguing clash. Both are extremely talented players, but the Belarusian at present is currently in the better shape of the two. The winner of this match will play Osaka.

Order of play

Court Philippe-Chatrier – 10:00 BST start
Men’s Singles First Round
J.MILLMAN vs A.ZVEREV [5]

Women’s Singles First Round
N.OSAKA [1] vs AK.SCHMIEDLOVA

Women’s Singles First Round
S.HALEP [3] vs A.TOMLJANOVIC

Men’s Singles First Round
T.DANIEL vs G.MONFILS [14]

Court Suzanne-Lenglen – 10:00 BST start
Men’s Singles First Round
N.JARRY vs JM.DEL POTRO [8]

Women’s Singles First Round
C.GARCIA [24] vs M.BARTHEL

Men’s Singles First Round
S.BOLELLI [Q] vs L.POUILLE [22]

Women’s Singles First Round
E.RODINA vs M.KEYS [14]

Court Simonne-Mathieu – 10:00 BST start
Men’s Singles First Round
F.FOGNINI [9] vs A.SEPPI

Women’s Singles First Round
J.OSTAPENKO vs V.AZARENKA

Women’s Singles First Round
A.SABALENKA [11] vs D.CIBULKOVA

Men’s Singles First Round
S.TRAVAGLIA [Q] vs A.MANNARINO

Court 1 – 10:00 BST start
Women’s Singles First Round
D.KASATKINA vs [21] J.PAOLINI [Q]

Men’s Singles First Round
S.JOHNSON vs R.BAUTISTA AGUT [18]

Men’s Singles First Round
K.KHACHANOV [10] vs CM.STEBE

Women’s Singles First Round
E.BOUCHARD vs L.TSURENKO [27]

Court 14 – 10:00 BST start
Men’s Singles First Round
T.FRITZ vs B.TOMIC

Women’s Singles First Round
C.PAQUET [W] vs M.LINETTE

Men’s Singles First Round
G.BARRERE [W] vs M.EBDEN

Women’s Singles First Round
A.TATISHVILI vs M.SAKKARI [29]

Court 7 – 10:00 BST start
Men’s Singles First Round
C.NORRIE vs E.BENCHETRIT [Q]

Women’s Singles First Round
K.MUCHOVA vs A.KONTAVEIT [17]

Men’s Singles First Round
F.VERDASCO [23] vs D.EVANS

Women’s Singles First Round
I.SWIATEK vs S.JANICIJEVIC [W]

Court 6 – 10:00 BST start
Women’s Singles First Round
M.PUIG vs K.FLIPKENS

Men’s Singles First Round
I.KARLOVIC vs F.LOPEZ

Men’s Singles First Round
A.HOANG [W] vs D.DZUMHUR

Court 4 – 10:00 BST start
Men’s Doubles First Round
L.BAMBRIDGE & J.O’MARA vs K.SKUPSKI & N.SKUPSKI

Men’s Doubles First Round
G.PELLA & D.SCHWARTZMAN vs H.GASTON & C.TABUR [W]

Men’s Doubles First Round
M.AREVALO & MA.REYES-VARELA vs R.HAASE & F.NIELSEN [14]

Court 5 – 10:00 BST start
Men’s Doubles First Round
A.KRAJICEK & A.SITAK [16] vs CP.HSIEH & C.RUNGKAT

Men’s Doubles First Round
L.MAYER & J.SOUSA vs H.KONTINEN & J.PEERS [8]

Men’s Doubles First Round
L.KUBOT & M.MELO [1] vs R.CARBALLES BAENA & J.MUNAR

Court 8 – 10:00 BST start
Men’s Doubles First Round
M.BERRETTINI vs L.SONEGO & J.MURRAY & B.SOARES [2]

Men’s Doubles First Round
C.GARIN & JI.LONDERO vs JJ.ROJER & H.TECAU [10]

Men’s Doubles First Round
K.KRAWIETZ & A.MIES vs M.GUINARD & A.RINDERKNECH [W]

Men’s Doubles First Round
R.KLAASEN & M.VENUS [6] vs R.BOPANNA & M.COPIL

Court 9 – 10:00 BST start
Men’s Singles First Round
G.GARCIA-LOPEZ [Q] vs F.DELBONIS

Women’s Singles First Round
A.BLINKOVA [Q] vs M.GASPARYAN

Women’s Singles First Round
T.BABOS [L] vs P.HON [W]

Women’s Singles First Round
E.RYBAKINA [Q] vs K.SINIAKOVA

Court 10 – 10:00 BST start
Men’s Singles First Round
Y.NISHIOKA vs M.MCDONALD

Men’s Doubles First Round
I.DODIG & E.ROGER-VASSELIN [12] vs M.KECMANOVIC & C.RUUD

Men’s Doubles First Round
A.BEDENE & H.HURKACZ vs M.DANIELL & W.KOOLHOF

Men’s Doubles First Round
J.CHARDY & F.MARTIN vs B.MCLACHLAN & JL.STRUFF [15]

Court 11 – 10:00 BST start
Men’s Doubles First Round
M.MIDDELKOOP & T.PUETZ vs R.JEBAVY & A.MOLTENI

Men’s Singles First Round
D.LAJOVIC [30] vs T.MONTEIRO [Q]

Men’s Doubles First Round
D.MOLCHANOV & I.ZELENAY vs M.GONZALEZ & H.ZEBALLOS [9]

Women’s Singles First Round
D.GAVRILOVA vs A.KRUNIC

Court 12 – 10:00 BST start
Women’s Singles First Round
I.BEGU & L.ZHU

Men’s Doubles First Round
M.BRYAN & B.BRYAN [7] & P.CARRENO BUSTA & G.GRANOLLERS

Men’s Singles First Round
A.DAVIDOVICH FOKINA [L] vs J.THOMPSON

Women’s Singles First Round
S.ZHENG vs Q.WANG [16]

Court 13 – 10:00 BST start
Men’s Singles First Round
M.YMER [Q] vs B.ROLA [Q]

Women’s Singles First Round
A.ANISIMOVA vs H.TAN [W]

Men’s Singles First Round
M.KLIZAN vs M.KUKUSHKIN

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