How to watch: 5 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the Tennis Channel; streaming on the Tennis Channel app.
After many crowd favorites like Daniil Medvedev and Alison Riske lost in the first round of the French Open, Wednesday offers an opportunity for stability. The two main courts, Philippe Chatrier and Suzanne Lenglen, will be primarily populated by familiar faces, with five former major champions and two more tour finals champions on display. But the outside courts may provide some of the more interesting matches because they are less likely to be one-sided affairs.
Here are some matches to keep an eye on.
Because of the number of matches cycling through courts, the times for individual matchups are at best a guess and are certain to fluctuate based on the times at which earlier play is completed. All times are Eastern.
COURT Suzanne Lenglen | 8 a.m.
Dominic Thiem vs. Jack Sock
In the first round, Dominic Thiem dispatched the former U.S. Open champion Marin Cilic in three sets. It helped allay questions about whether Thiem’s lack of preparation on red clay would harm his ability to perform after acclimating to hardcourts during his title run at the United States Open. Thiem, who finished as the runner-up at the past two French Opens, is using the first few rounds at Roland Garros as training fodder.
On the other side of the net, Jack Sock is still working on bringing himself back to his highest level. In 2017, Sock was a semifinalist at the ATP Tour finals, an impressive feat for a player who had never reached the quarterfinal of a Grand Slam tournament. But Sock has struggled with his singles game since then, and he seemed to enjoy himself much more on the doubles court, winning a pair of Grand Slam titles and the ATP Tour finals alongside Mike Bryan.
Sock’s singles ranking fell as low as 768th at the beginning of the year. Now, ranked 310th, he needed to go through the qualifying rounds before playing in the main draw. The road back to his best will be full of challenges, which Sock faces with humor by saying of Thiem, “I heard he played all right in New York.” Let’s hope he can properly keep his spirits up as he works his way back toward the heights of men’s tennis.
COURT PHILIPPE CHATRIER | 7 a.m.
Serena Williams vs. Tsvetana Pironkova
Serena Williams, ranked ninth, came back from a breakdown in her first set against Kristie Ahn to win in a tiebreaker before storming through the second set without losing a game. Following a pattern we saw with some regularity in the U.S. Open, Williams can start some of her matches slowly before coming into form and dominating.
For this reason, some question whether Williams is capable of chasing down a 24th Grand Slam singles title. While some criticism is fair, it’s undeniable that Williams is still a contender, having reached at least the semifinals at five of her nine major tournaments since returning to the WTA tour.
Tsvetana Pironkova lost to Williams in the quarterfinals in a tight three-set match, and looked dominant in her first-round victory over Andrea Petkovic. Pironkova, a quarterfinalist at the 2016 French Open, has not always favored clay courts, which are much different from the grass courts on which she thrives.
Williams will be a heavy favorite, but if Pironkova can start well there is a chance she can overwhelm the 23-time Grand Slam champion.
Court 13 | 9 a.m.
Casper Ruud vs. Tommy Paul
Casper Ruud, the son of the former player Christian Ruud, became the first Norwegian to win an ATP title, in February at the Argentina Open on clay. In the run-up to the French Open, he reached the semifinals at the Italian Open and the German Open, losing to Novak Djokovic and Andrey Rublev.
Ruud, 21, is a natural clay-court player, using his consistency to exhaust and draw errors out of his opponents. In the longer, five-set format of the French Open, these strengths are complemented even more. Even if an opponent can grab a set off Ruud, his ability to entrench deep in the court and absorb pressure will serve him well.
Tommy Paul, ranked 58th, had his best Grand Slam result at the Australian Open, reaching the third round before losing to Marton Fucsovics. In Melbourne, Paul defeated Grigor Dimitrov in five sets, but that defeat was soon forgotten as Dimitrov trounced Paul in their first-round meeting at the U.S. Open.
Paul, naturally a good hardcourt player, has struggled with consistency on his backhand side. The two-hander tends to feel somewhat stilted, especially when put in contrast with Paul’s smooth forehand strokes. It is likely that Ruud will target his backhand with a variety of shots to figure out which will extract the largest number of errors.
Court 14 | 5 a.m.
Sara Errani vs. Kiki Bertens
Kiki Bertens, the fifth seed, was a semifinalist at the 2016 French Open, but has failed to make it into the second week of competition in Paris since then. Her struggles on clay seem to have continued, as she lost in the first round at the Italian Open as well as a tournament in Strasbourg, France.
Bertens does have some variability in her game, which can help throw off opponents who would rather settle into long repetitive points. If she can settle herself and limit unforced errors, she may still be able to put together a run.
Sara Errani, a former French Open finalist, last played in the main draw of a Grand Slam event at the 2018 French Open. After failing a drug test in 2017 and subsequently having her ban retroactively extended in 2018, she struggled to return to the level of competition necessary to succeed on the WTA tour.
However, Errani is well known as a clay-court specialist, and after storming through the qualification rounds without dropping a set, she dismantled Monica Puig in the first round in under an hour, losing only three games. The former world No. 5 will be a tough test for Bertens as she attempts to shake off her clay-court collywobbles.
Source: Tennis - nytimes.com
