For the twelfth time, Rafael Nadal will face Diego Schwartzman on Wednesday. It’s a rematch of last October’s semifinals, and a match between two men who haven’t dropped a set. Also, in what will feel like a completely different night session, with 5,000 fans attending, Novak Djokovic will play Matteo Berrettini for just the second time. Wednesday’s women quarterfinals also feature two players who are yet to lose a set: defending champion Iga Siwatek, and 17-year-old Coco Gauff. They will take on two in-form players who, like Gauff, are vying for their first Major semifinal. And notably, both of the WTA quarterfinals are first-time meetings.
Also on Wednesday, two women’s doubles quarterfinals will also be contested, featuring six top 50 singles players.
Coco Gauff (24) vs. Barbora Krejcikova – 11:00am on Court Philippe-Chatrier
As per WTA Insider, Coco is the youngest Major quarterfinalist in 15 years, since Nicole Vaidisova at this event in 2006. Both women will be fully fresh on this day, as they won their round of 16 matches on Monday in less than an hour. And both women are on nine-match winning streaks, as both claimed titles in the week leading into this tournament. Krejcikova also advanced to the round of 16 here last autumn. Most of Barbora’s previous success came on the doubles court, where she’s a two-time Slam champ. But 25-year-old is an impressive 22-8 in singles this season, as she was also a finalist in Dubai. It would not be a surprise to see Krejcikova earn the victory, though I give the slight edge to Gauff. Coco is playing with a new level of assured confidence, and the 17-year-old American seems on the verge of greatness.
Iga Swiatek (8) vs. Maria Sakkari (17) – Second on Court Philippe-Chatrier
Swiatek is now up to 11 straight French Open matches, and 22 straight sets. And including her run to the title in Rome, she’s on a 10-match win streak overall. Sakkari has steadily improved her results over the last few seasons, and in the last round, she completely dominated last year’s runner-up, Sofia Kenin. The 25-year-old from Greece is capable of controlling play and blasting winners on both sides, as she did two rounds ago against Elise Mertens, when she struck a total of 53 winners. But I can’t picture Sakkari being able to do so against the speed, power, and confidence of Swiatek. Additionally, the pressure of being the favorite to repeat as champion does not seem to be rattling the 20-year-old from Poland. Iga should be able to advance to her second consecutive semifinal in Paris.
Rafael Nadal (3) vs. Diego Schwartzman (10) – Third on Court Philippe-Chatrier
Not to be outdone by his co-defending champion, Nadal has now claimed 35 consecutive sets at Roland Garros. And he’s taken 10 of the 11 matches he’s played against his opponent today. Schwartzman lost the first nine before finally upsetting the King of Clay last September in Rome. But just a few weeks later at last year’s French Open, Rafa prevailed in straight sets. Like Nadal, Schwartzman is 12-0 in sets this fortnight, though he’s also yet to face a seeded player. And more importantly, he’s yet to face a man who is 104-2 lifetime at this event. Diego is one of the game’s best returners, but as great as he’s played through four rounds, it’s hard to imagine him sustaining a level high enough to take three sets off Nadal.
Novak Djokovic (1) vs. Matteo Berrettini (9) – Not before 8:00pm on Court Philippe-Chatrier
In their only previous meeting, during 2019’s ATP Finals, Djokovic won by a score of 6-2, 6-1. Novak advanced much less comfortably two days ago, when he dropped the first two sets to another Italian, Lorenzo Musetti. Djokovic looked a bit off during those two sets, and after the match, admitted he was nervous. He cannot afford to get off to the same slow start on Wednesday, as Berrettini is a much more experienced player, especially in best-of-five matches. And the 25-year-old has much better endurance than his teenaged countryman. Other than those first two sets against Musetti, Djokovic has played rather flawlessly to this stage. Matteo’s big serve and forehand combo are certainly dangerous, though likely not enough to take out Novak, especially on this surface.
Other Notable Matches on Wednesday:
Irina-Camelia Begu and Nadia Podoroska vs. Petra Martic and Shelby Rogers – This is Begu and Podoroska’s first event as a team, and only the third for Martic and Rogers, who also reached the quarters a few weeks ago in Rome.
Magda Linette and Bernarda Pera vs. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and Elena Rybakina – Linette and Pera also advanced to the quarters in Rome, the first tournament of their partnership. Pavlyuchenkova just defeated Rybakina in an excellent singles quarterfinal on Tuesday.
Wednesday’s full schedule is here.
