French Open Schedule 2013: Day 7 Matchups, Predictions and Analysis

A plethora of big names will be in action on Day 7 at the 2013 French Open as the men's and women's singles draws begin to take shape.

Reigning Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka will kick off play on Court Philippe Chatrier in the morning where she'll take on French star Alize Cornet. Defending French Open champion Maria Sharapova will follow that match before Rafael and Novak Djokovic wind down the day on center court.

Nadal will be pitted against Italian Fabio Fognini while Djokovic is scheduled to take on Grigor Dimitrov late in the day.

Throughout the day, tennis fans will have an excellent opportunity to watch a handful of outside contenders, including Samantha Stosur, Sloane Stephens and Jelena Jankovic on the women's side. 

With more tennis on the way, here we'll get you set for what's to come Saturday at Roland Garros. 

Day 7 Singles Matchups

Court	Match
Philippe Chatrier	Alize Cornet (31) vs. Victoria Azarenka (3)
	Jie Zheng vs. Maria Sharapova (2)
	Rafael Nadal (3) vs. Fabio Fognini (27)
	Novak Djokovic (1) vs. Grigor Dimitrov (26)
Suzanne Lenglen	Benoit Paire (24) vs. Kei Nishikori (13)
	Marion Bartoli (13) vs. Francesca Schiavone
	Nikolay Davydenko vs. Richard Gasquet (7)
	Jelena Jankovic (18) vs. Samantha Stosur (9)
Court No. 1	Marina Erakovic vs. Sloane Stephens (17)
	Bethanie Mattek-Sands vs. Paula Ormaechea
	Tommy Haas (12) vs. John Isner (19)
	Victor Hanescu vs. Philipp Kohlschreiber (16)
Court No. 2	Stefanie Voegele vs. Maria Kirilenko (12)
	Stanislas Wawrinka (9) vs. Jerzy Janowicz (21)
Court No. 7	Mikhail Youzhny (29) vs. Janko Tipsarevic (8)
	Petra Kvitova (7) vs. Jamie Hampton

*Play begins at 5 a.m. ET on every court. Schedule of play courtesy of RolandGarros.com.

Predictions

Djokovic and Nadal Inch Closer to Potential Semifinal Showdown

Look for both Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal to roll on Saturday as they eye a potential semifinal showdown against one another in a little less than a week. 

Djokovic has had a day to rest up after blasting Guido Pella in Round 2, while Nadal will be playing for the second time in as many days after rain forced him to play his second-round match on Friday. Rafa, who is now 54-1 all-time at Roland Garros, should be strong nonetheless.

Fabio Fognini shouldn't pose much of a threat to the Spanish superstar at this stage. The Italian challenger was roughed up by Nadal the last time they met, losing in straight sets in the second round of the Rome Masters. 

Plus, at 5'10", Fognini doesn't fit the bill of the typical Nadal nemesis. It tends to be the 6'3" and over players who give Nadal the most problems on clay. Just look at his success against world No. 5 David Ferrer over the years, who stands around 5'9".

Meanwhile, Djokovic should be inspired going up against Grigor Dimitrov, the 22-year-old Bulgarian who upset him in the second round of the Madrid Masters earlier in the clay-court season. The Djoker had chances in that match, specifically in a second-set tiebreak.

With plenty to prove on Saturday, look for both Nadal and Djokovic to win comfortably on Court Philippe Chatrier and advance to the fourth round. 

Tommy Haas vs. John Isner Will Go the Distance

John Isner is no stranger to epic five-set matches at Grand Slams. After all, he lost in five sets at all four majors last year and who can forget his record-setting match against Nicolas Mahut at Wimbledon in 2010?

That match turned out to be the longest in history.

But don't expect Isner's third-round showdown with Tommy Haas to last over 11 hours on Saturday, but don't be shocked if it goes the distance. 

On Friday, Isner survived fellow American Ryan Harrison in five sets, winning the last three after falling behind two sets to love to advance.

But Isner will face another challenging opponent in the 12th seeded Haas on Saturday. The 35-year-old German is defying both age and odds to this point, playing fantastic tennis as he enters Day 7 having won all six of his sets at Roland Garros.

Keep in mind that Haas has reached the fourth round just twice at the French Open, while Isner has never been beyond the third round. So while the veteran Haas has more experience, he hasn't quite been able to figure it out on the red clay in Paris. 

Both of these players have met in the past, but always on hard courts. Isner has had considerable success against his elder, and that should continue on Saturday. With a seven-inch advantage in terms of height, the American should dominate on serve and find a way to do just enough in the return game. 

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