French Open Schedule 2013: Day 8 Matchups, Predictions and Analysis

The 2013 French Open has reached the round of 16, and though there have been some surprises along the way, many of the tennis' best players remain alive in their bid for the trophy at Roland Garros.

17-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer headlines the men in action, and women's No. 1 overall seed Serena Williams will look to keep her momentous tournament run going in Paris after dropping just six games total in her previous three matches.

Below is a breakdown of the TV schedule for Sunday, along with predictions and analysis in the marquee fourth-round matches that will take place.

Schedule for Day 8 (h/t Tennis.com)

Sunday, June 2	5 a.m.-1 p.m.	Round of 16	Tennis
Sunday, June 2	1 p.m.-4 p.m.	Round of 16	NBC

Singles Matchups

Court	Match
Philippe Chatrier	Svetlana Kuzvetsova vs. Angelique Kerber (8)
	Serena Williams (1) vs. Roberta Vinci (15)
	Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (6) vs. Viktor Troicki
	Gilles Simon (15) vs. Roger Federer (2)
Suzanne Lenglen	Kevin Anderson (23) vs. David Ferrer (4)
	Tommy Robredo (32) vs. Nicolas Almagro (11)
	Carla Suarez Navarro (20) vs. Sara Errani (5)
	Agnieszka Radwanska (4) vs. Ana Ivanovic (14)

Note: Play begins at 5 a.m. ET on every court. Schedule of play and statistics are courtesy of RolandGarros.com.

Predictions

Federer Drops First Set of Tournament, Advances

Spurred on by the favorable crowd, Gilles Simon will be able to grab a set off Federer, but ultimately it won't be enough to halt King Roger's French Open run.

Simon is 0-5 in five previous encounters with Federer, including a decisive 6-1, 6-2 loss at the previous ATP event in Rome—their only meeting on clay.

However, in the three prior matches that Simon completed, he won at least a set off Federer on each occasion. That included an epic five-setter at the 2011 Australian Open, when Simon rallied to win the third and fourth sets before dropping the final one, 6-3.

With the way Federer has cruised rather effortlessly through the first three rounds, perhaps a slight letdown is in store. For the past eight years, though, he has at least made it to the quarterfinals in the year's second Grand Slam event.

The service game has been a huge asset for Federer, as he's won at least 72 percent of his second-serve points in each of his first three matches. Any number near that total will be plenty to put Simon away.

Serena Cruises Into Quarterfinals

The top-seeded Serena Williams has faced Roberta Vinci only twice before, but has never dropped a set. Sunday shouldn't be the site of a change in that trend with the dominant form Williams has displayed thus far.

After her simple 6-0, 6-2 win in Round 3 over Sorana Cirstea, the WTA's official Twitter page documented just how impressive Williams' current run is:

That broke a tie with Victoria Azarenka for the third-longest winning streak in the new millennium (h/t WTA). It sounds as epic as it is, and it's going to be too much for Vinci to overcome.

Vinci, meanwhile, has dropped the middle set of her past two matches. She did show the fortitude to dominate the decisive third set on each occasion, but shouldn't have had that much trouble in the first place.

Although the French Open is definitely the weakest of the four Grand Slams for Williams, she is playing at such a high level right now that the surface barely matters. Williams can use her combination of overbearing power and fitness to beat anyone across from her.

Williams appears well on her way to the final to potentially face defending champion Maria Sharapova, and if anyone is going to stand in Williams' way, it won't be Vinci.

Tsonga Continues to Shine as France's Best Men's Hope

The fiery Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga is the highest seed amongst his compatriots in the men's draw. While an innate pressure comes with that territory, Tsonga has looked up to the task thus far.

No doubts have ever lingered about Tsonga's natural ability, but he hasn't quite broken through to the upper echelon of truly elite players of his generation.

Perhaps this is the tournament that it finally all comes together for him. Tsonga did push world No. 1 Novak Djokovic to the brink in last year's quarterfinals. Unfortunately, he didn't capitalize on three match points and lost in five sets to the eventual runner-up.

Unseeded upstart Viktor Troicki did beat No. 10 seed Marin Cilic in straight sets. If Tsonga is known for his volatile temperament, check out this rant Troicki went on in Rome during a second-round loss to Ernests Gulbis:

This is obviously not one of Troicki's finer moments, and it's not designed to call him out. It's almost funnier and redundant than anything (albeit a tad childish).

However, it is designed to prove a point. Tsonga won't let his heavy underdog opponent thwart his dreams—especially after his career-best effort from a year ago.

*Head-to-head matchup information was obtained from MatchStat.com.