Despite rain throughout the first week of this fortnight, the singles draws are back on schedule, though there is more rain in the forecast on Friday.
Day 6 is headlined by a quartet of reigning Major champions, who combined currently hold all four Slam titles: Roland Garros champ Iga Swiatek, Wimbledon champ Carlos Alcaraz, US Open champ Coco Gauff, and Australian Open champ Jannik Sinner. Plus, Slam finalists Ons Jabeur and Leylah Fernandez will square off, as will the big-hitting Ben Shelton and Felix Auger-Aliassime. Overall between singles and doubles, 69 matches are scheduled around the grounds on a busy Friday.
Throughout the tournament, this preview will analyze the day’s four most prominent matches, while highlighting the other notable matches on the schedule. Friday’s play gets underway at a special start time of 10:00am local, as the tournament tries to squeeze in as many matches as possible, with the doubles draws behind schedule.
Coco Gauff (3) vs. Dayana Yastremska (30) – 12:00pm on Court Philippe-Chatrier
Gauff has advanced to the quarterfinals or better for three consecutive years in Paris, and even went all the way to the final in 2022. She is a solid 25-8 this season, though her best tennis has eluded her in recent months, as Coco has not reached a WTA final since the very first week of the year in Auckland. However, she comfortably claimed her first two matches of this tournament in straight sets.
Yastremska achieved a career milestone at the last Major, advancing to her first semifinal at this level. It was quite a startling result for Dayana, as she had lost her last eight matches at Slams ahead of that fortnight. Clay is far from her best surface, as she was 0-4 lifetime at Roland Garros before this week. And her results between leaving Melbourne and arriving in Paris were disappointing, going just 5-8.
Their only previous meeting took place a month ago in Madrid, where Gauff prevailed 6-4, 6-1. In another clay court matchup, Coco is a clear favorite to win again.
Leylah Fernandez (31) vs. Ons Jabeur (8) – Third on Court Suzanne-Lenglen
Jabeur has not been fully healthy for quite awhile, due to an ongoing knee issue. Even with her two victories thus far in Paris, she still has a losing record on the year of 8-9. But she did reach the quarterfinals of Madrid during this clay court season, where she defeated Fernandez 6-4 in the third after quite a tussle. Ons is looking to reach the second week of Roland Garros for the fourth time in five years.
It was two years ago at Roland Garros when Leylah last advanced to a Major quarterfinal. During that run, she fractured her foot, and would miss several months of tennis. Fernandez has not advanced beyond the second round of any Major since, that is until now. Like Jabeur, she arrived in Paris with a losing record this season, though unlike Jabeur, she has not dropped a set to this stage.
Overall Ons is 3-0 against Leylah, with a victory on all three surfaces. However, all three matches have been tight three-setters. While Jabeur is the slight favorite on paper, I would not be surprised to see Fernandez earn her first win in this rivalry based on her form this week.
Ben Shelton (15) vs. Felix Auger-Aliassime (21) – Fourth on Court 14
This is a first-time encounter between the American and the Canadian, though they have faced each other a few times in doubles, and even teamed up together (and won) during last year’s Laver Cup. 21-year-old Shelton claimed his first clay court title earlier this season in Houston, though he went just 2-3 during the European clay court swing prior to this fortnight. He now looks to reach the round of 16 at a non-hard court Major for the first time.
23-year-old Auger-Aliassime advanced to the round of 16 here two years ago, but had been eliminated in the first round in his other three previous appearances at Roland Garros. His form has been subpar across the past 18 months, though he did reach the final of Madrid a month ago. However, it’s worth noting he was the first player to ever reach a Masters 1000 final via three retirements/walkovers.
Yet on this surface, I favor Felix on Friday. Ben is still learning how to excel on clay, as he’s only contested 20 tour-level matches on the terre battue.
Sebastian Korda (27) vs. Carlos Alcaraz (3) – Not Before 8:15pm on Court Philippe-Chatrier
Alcaraz was far from his best during his second round win over qualifier Jesper de Jong, with Carlitos’ forehand spraying errors. He continues to wear a sleeve on his injured right arm, which forced him to miss much of the clay court season. But Alcaraz is a strong 20-5 in 2024, and has advanced to the fourth round or better in all of his last seven Major appearances.
Korda has not returned to the second week of a Slam since the wrist injury he suffered during his run to the quarterfinals of the 2023 Australian Open. He is a modest 15-12 this year, and as per Tennis Abstract, is 1-11 lifetime against top 5 opposition. That sole victory came last fall against Daniil Medvedev on a hard court.
Alcaraz leads their head-to-head 3-1, but Korda’s victory did come on clay, when he beat Alcaraz in a three-hour three-setter two years ago in Monte Carlo. Carlitos though remains the favorite on this day, yet he will need to considerably improve his form as this tournament progresses if he wants to claim his third Major title.
Other Notable Matches on Friday:
Andrey Rublev (6) vs. Matteo Arnaldi – While he may be 0-10 in Slam quarterfinals, Rublev has now advanced to the third round or better in his last 11 Major appearances. Arnaldi is a 23-year-old Italian who is playing to reach the fourth round of a Slam for the second time, which would equal his career-best result from last summer in New York. Last fall in Vienna on a hard court, Andrey bested Matteo 7-5, 6-3.
Pavel Kotov vs. Jannik Sinner (2) – Sinner arrived in Paris with a hip injury, and was visibly hampered during his second round victory over Richard Gasquet. Kotov has already taken out two significant names: Cameron Norrie and Stan Wawrinka. A month ago in Madrid, Jannik defeated Pavel in straight sets.
Hubert Hurkacz (8) vs. Denis Shapovalov – Hurkacz has required nine sets to reach this third round contest. Shapovalov is just 11-13 on the year, but on Thursday he ousted the 25th seed, Frances Tiafoe, in four sets. Hubi leads their head-to-head 4-1, and won their most recent encounter at last year’s Australian Open in five.
Iga Swiatek (1) vs. Marie Bouzkova – Swiatek needed to save a match point against Naomi Osaka on Wednesday, in what was easily the match of the tournament thus far. Bouzkova is yet to drop a set, at an event where she was previously 1-4 lifetime.
Zhizhen Zhang vs. Stefanos Tsitsipas (9) – Tsitsipas is vying to reach the second week of Roland Garros for the sixth consecutive year. Zhizhen is vying to reach the second week of any Major for the first time.
Friday’s full Order of Play is here.
