The singles quarterfinals conclude on Wednesday in Paris.
In the women’s singles draw, we are just one round away from a potential blockbuster semifinal between Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina. But both must first get past tricky opposition on Wednesday, in 17-year-old prodigy Mirra Andreeva and Italy’s Jasmine Paolini.
Due to Novak Djokovic’s withdrawal due to a knee injury, Day 11 will only feature one men’s singles quarterfinal. It will see Sascha Zverev, whohas played back-to-back five-setters, face one of the sport’s speediest and best defenders, Alex de Minaur.
Jasmine Paolini (12) vs. Elena Rybakina (4) – Not Before 1:00pm on Court Philippe-Chatrier
Rybakina is now 34-5 this season, and has comfortably claimed all eight sets she’s played this fortnight. All four of her matches have lasted between 67-73 minutes, so Elena has been consistently efficient. This is her second Roland Garros quarterfinal, and her fifth at a Major, in a round where she holds a record of 2-2.
This is a first Major quarterfinal for Paolini, on the heels of a surprising WTA 1000 title earlier this year in Dubai. Overall she is 20-10 in 2024, and has dropped two sets to this stage. However, it’s worth noting she did not face a player ranked higher than 70th in the world in her first four matches.
Rybakina has taken two of their three meetings, which occurred since May of last year. Elena won both of their matches on clay, while Paolini prevailed on a hard court, though only after Rybakina retired mid-match, and while she was actually ahead. On this surface, and in a match of this magnitude, the Wimbledon champion is a considerable favorite to achieve her first Roland Garros semifinal.
Mirra Andreeva vs. Aryna Sabalenka (2) – Third on Court Philippe-Chatrier
Sabalenka has been as clinical as Rybakina through four rounds, not dropping a set and spending between 62-77 minutes on court in each match. She is now 29-7 on the year, and 15-3 on clay, having only lost on this surface to fellow reigning Major champions (Swiatek, Vondrousova). Aryna is playing to reach a second consecutive semifinal in Paris, and a seventh consecutive Major semifinal. Impressively, she is a perfect 8-0 in Major quarterfinals.
Like Paolini, Andreeva is making her Major quarterfinal debut, in just her fifth appearance at this level. She has lost only one set thus far, to another two-time Australian Open champ from Belarus, Victoria Azarenka. Mirra is only 16-7 this season, as her results at smaller events have not been as strong as at the big ones.
Sabalenka is 2-0 against Andreeva, as they’ve met in both of the past two years on the clay of Madrid, with Aryna winning each contest in straight sets. While Mirra is an extremely talented young player, with the likely potential to win Majors in the future, she does not possess the weaponry or the experience of Aryna. The Australian Open champion is a significant favorite to extend her record to 9-0 in Major quarterfinals.
Sascha Zverev (4) vs. Alex de Minaur (11) – Not Before 8:15pm on Court Philippe-Chatrier
What will Zverev have left after back-to-back five-setters in the last two rounds, both of which lasted over four hours? Tallon Griekspoor and Holger Rune both pushed Zverev to the brink of defeat, but the German’s excellent career tiebreak record at Roland Garros of 22-2 helped save him. Sascha now vies for his fourth consecutive semifinal at this event.
This is only a second career quarterfinal appearance at a Major for de Minaur, and his first in front of fans, after first doing so at the closed-door 2020 US Open. The Australian lost that quarterfinal in straights to eventual champion Dominic Thiem. But four years later, Alex is playing better than ever, with a record this season of 29-10. The 25-year-old recently debuted inside the top 10, and would move into the top eight with a victory on Wednesday. De Minaur has dropped two sets through four matches, coming from a set down against both Jan-Lennard Struff and Daniil Medvedev to earn a pair of strong wins.
Zverev is 7-2 against de Minaur, and also took their only clay court meeting in straights. The Australian’s only two wins have come during team competitions in his home country. Despite how draining his last two matches were, Zverev should be favored to make another semifinal appearance in Paris.
Other Notable Matches on Wednesday:
Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos (1) vs. Tomas Machac and Zhizhen Zhang – This is a men’s doubles quarterfinal that will start off the day session on Court Philippe-Chatrier. Granollers and Zeballos have cemented themselves as one of the best doubles teams in the world for years now, but are still seeking their first Major title. Machac and Zhizhen have now played four events together this year, and they’ve reached the semifinals or better at each one thus far, which includes the last Major.
Coco Gauff and Katerina Siniakova (5) vs. Miyu Kato and Nadiia Kichenok (16) – Gauff is vying to make the semifinals in both women’s singles and women’s doubles. Her and Siniakova are yet to drop a set, as are the relatively new team of Miyu and Kichenok.
Su-wei Hsieh and Jan Zielinski (7) vs. Desirae Krawczyk and Neal Skupski (4) – These are four of the best doubles players in the world, in an intriguing mixed doubles semifinal. Su-wei and Zielinski are the reigning Australian Open champions, and they defeated Krawczyk and Skupski in that final, claiming a tight match tiebreaker 11-9 after saving a championship point.
Wednesday’s full Order of Play is here.
