French Open 2014: Day 5 Schedule, Matchups Predictions for Roland Garros Bracket

In the biggest shock of the 2014 French Open thus far, American tennis star Serena Williams was eliminated on Wednesday in Round 2.

The fact that the No. 1 seed on the women’s side and defending tournament champion was dominated on Day 4 was a stunning development for tennis fans.

With No. 2 Li Na also already out of the competition, Williams' loss marked a historic turn of events, as WTA on pointed out on Twitter:

With men’s No. 1 seed Rafael Nadal and women’s No. 4 seed Simona Halep both in action on Day 5, the excitement over what should be another round of exciting on-court action has fans ready for more.

Here is the full television schedule for Thursday and the top matches from the Day 5 schedule for the tournament at Roland Garros:

Date	Time (ET)	Round	Watch
May 29	5 a.m. to 10 a.m.	Early Round Action	ESPN2
May 29	10 a.m. to 7 p.m.	Early Round Action	Tennis Channel

*Check Roland Garros.com for full men's and women's brackets.

Women's Bracket
Player 1		Player 2	Court	Predicted Winner
Men's Bracket
Player 1		Player 2	Court	Predicted Winner
Jelena Jankovic	vs.	Kurumi Nara	Court Chatrier	Jankovic
Ana Ivanovic	vs.	Elina Svitolina	Court Chatrier	Ivanovic
Petra Kvitova	vs.	Marina Erakovic	Court Lenglen	Kvitova
Alison Riske	vs.	Kristina Mladenovic	Court Lenglen	Riske
Simona Halep	vs.	Heather Watson	Court 1	Halep
Sloane Stephens	vs.	Polona Hercog	Court 1	Stephens
Rafael Nadal	vs.	Dominic Thiem	Court Chatrier	Nadal
Richard Gasquet	vs.	Carlos Berlocq	Court Chatrier	Gasquet
David Ferrer	vs.	Simone Bolelli	Court Lenglen	Ferrer
Gael Monfils	vs.	Jan-Lennard Struff	Court Lenglen	Monfils
Andy Murray	vs.	Marinko Matosevic	Court 1	Murray
Guillermo Garcia-Lopez	vs.	Adrian Mannarino	Court 1	Mannarino

*For the full schedule, check out RolandGarros.com.

Top Matchups on Day 5

No. 1 Rafael Nadal vs. Dominic Thiem

As a result of Williams being ousted from the tournament, Rafael Nadal is the only top seed remaining in the 2014 French Open—as if he needed any more weight on his shoulders.

All eyes are upon him as he goes for his fifth consecutive and ninth overall career Grand Slam victory at Roland Garros. ESPN Stats & Info shared this bit that proves Nadal’s dominance at the French Open:

The stacked men’s field will make winning the tournament once again even more impressive, but he can’t look past his next opponent, Dominic Thiem. At only 20 years old, Thiem has been impressive enough to earn a world ranking of 57th.

The Rafaholics Twitter page shared more vital information about Thiem and the matchup:

While Thiem deserves credit for making it to the second round, Nadal will treat him like he did Robby Ginepri in his opening match. Nadal destroyed Ginepri, 6-0, 6-3, 6-0, and looks to be in top physical shape.

Add in Thiem’s inexperience, and it's clear that Nadal will be using Thursday’s matchup to work on any aspects of his game that need polishing. After playing so well in the opening round, there won't be too much to work on.

Predicted Score: Nadal wins, 6-2, 6-3, 6-1

No. 4 Simona Halep vs. Heather Watson

At just 22 years old, No. 4 seed Simona Halep came into this tournament with high hopes of a great finish, but now the second-round exit from Williams has opened the door to a possible tournament victory.

Where one door closes, another opens.

While Halep was the heavy favorite against Alisa Kleybanova in Round 1, she did not take her opponent lightly and dominated, 6-0, 6-2. Not only was her serve strong, but her baseline game and return were also unbeatable.

On Day 5, Halep takes on English star Heather Watson. After beating Barbora Zahlavova-Strycova in her opening matchup, Watson told Kevin Mitchell of The Guardian about her second-round meeting against the No. 4 seed:

"

She’s come up through the rankings very quickly. I’m really not surprised at that because she’s got a good game. She’s very solid and makes a lot of balls. I played her at the US Open last year. It went to a third set. I started on fire, really well, but I kind of crashed and didn’t have any energy towards the end. I’m looking forward to it.

"

Watson has the skill to beat Halep if the No. 4 seed cannot find her rhythm, but that simply will not be the case. Halep was on point throughout her first-round matchup and is looking to make a deep run at Roland Garros.

Using her strength to overpower Watson, Halep will dominate off the serve and the use her speed and agility to keep her English foe off balance all day.

As long as Halep is focused on the task at hand, she will cruise to a tournament-defining victory.

Predicted Score: Halep wins, 6-2, 6-1

*Stats via RolandGarros.com.