The quarterfinals conclude on Wednesday in Paris.
A year ago in the women’s singles championship match, Iga Swiatek defeated Coco Gauff 6-1, 6-3 to win her second Roland Garros title. Swiatek leads their head-to-head 6-0, having claimed all 12 sets they’ve contested. Can Coco provide any real resistance on Wednesday?
In the other WTA quarterfinal, Ons Jabeur and Beatriz Haddad Maia vie to reach their first French Open semifinal.
On the men’s side, we have another prominent rematch from last year’s tournament. A year ago in this same round, Casper Ruud eliminated Holger Rune in a contentious Scandinavian battle. Yet in 2023, Rune has been the better player. Who will prevail this time around?
And one year after the serious ankle injury Sascha Zverev suffered in the semifinals of this event, he looks to return to that round, and faces a surprising quarterfinalist in Tomas Martin Etcheverry.
Beatriz Haddad Maia (14) vs. Ons Jabeur (7) – 11:00am on Court Philippe Chatrier
Jabeur is only 15-6 on the year, after missing time this season due to multiple leg injuries. But she has rounded into strong form at a good time, dropping only one set to this stage. This is the farthest Ons has ever advanced in Paris, as she plays for her third Major semifinal, all within the past year.
Haddad Maia had never previously advanced beyond the second round of a Slam, with an 0-7 record in that round. Yet here she is in her first Major quarterfinal, on the surface where the least amount of previous success had come. Beatriz has survived three consecutive three-setters, including an over three-and-half-hour one in the last round against Sara Sorribes Tormo.
These players met just two months ago in the same round on the same surface, with Jabeur easily prevailing 6-3, 6-0 in Stuttgart. Ons will surely be the fresher player, and has an obviously huge edge in experience. I like Jabeur’s chances of achieving her first Roland Garros semifinal.
Iga Swiatek (1) vs. Coco Gauff (6) – Not Before 12:30pm on Court Philippe Chatrier
In their 12 aforementioned previous sets, most have not even been close. Only one, their very first, has gone to a tiebreak, and Gauff has averaged just 2.4 games per set.
Coco is also yet to play her best this year. While her record of 23-8 is far from embarrassing, she had not reached a quarterfinal in three months before this fortnight. She continues to tinker with her forehand and serve, and has made recent changes to her coaching team.
Swiatek is 32-6 this season, and has lost only nine games through four rounds, though she did receive an unfortunate retirement in the last round from an ill Lesia Tsurenko. So while Gauff always remains a threat, a Coco upset on Wednesday would be a bit of a shock.
Sascha Zverev (22) vs. Tomas Martin Etcheverry – Not Before 3:00pm on Court Philippe Chatrier
Zverev arrived in Paris with little form, and even admitted to feeling emotional returning to the scene where such a devastating injury happened a year ago. But he has played excellently through four rounds, dropping just one set against his only opponent seeded higher than him (Tiafoe). Sascha is playing for his third straight semifinal in Paris.
Before this year, Etcheverry had never won a match at a Major, and only owned four career victories at ATP level. But the 23-year-old has won 19 tour-level matches this season, and reached two clay court finals (Santiago, Houston). Tomas Martin is yet to drop a set this tournament, defeating three seeded players (de Minaur, Coric, Nishioka).
But in their first career meeting, Zverev is a huge favorite. His power and experience should allow him to comfortably dictate matters on Wednesday.
Holger Rune (6) vs. Casper Ruud (4) – Not Before 8:15pm on Court Philippe-Chatrier
Ruud got off to a modest start in 2023 after achieving his first two Major finals in 2022, and accumulating 51 match wins. But he’s now 15-5 on clay this season, and took three tight sets from Nicolas Jarry in a straight-set fourth round match that lasted nearly four hours. Casper is 2-0 in his previous Slam quarterfinals.
Rune has been on a tear since last fall, reaching seven ATP finals, and winning three of them. That includes three clay finals within the last two months (Monte Carlo, Munich, Rome). He survived a grueling round of 16 contest against Francisco Cerundolo, decided by a fifth-set tiebreak. This is Holger’s second Slam quarterfinal, after losing in four sets here a year ago to this same opponent.
These two men exchanged words both at the net and in the locker room after that quarterfinal. Casper, like many players, has voiced how immature he finds Holger’s on-court behavior to be. Ruud won their first four meetings, but just two weeks ago in the semifinals of Rome, Rune came from behind to win in three. All five of those matches took place on clay.
Holger appeared physically fatigued during much of his match on Monday against Cerundolo. The outcome on Wednesday may heavily depend on his physical condition. But if he’s feeling close to 100%, I give Rune the slight edge to achieve his first Major semifinal.
Wednesday’s full Order of Play is here.
