French Open 2015: Friday Schedule and Predictions for Roland Garros Bracket
Making it to the third round of the 2015 French Open is no simple task, even for the top stars in the field. But Friday's dawn of Round 3 play will continue to separate contenders from pretenders with an uptick in competition.
Many of the marquee names were able to breeze through the first few days, but that's no longer an option. Every matchup from here on out demands proper execution and preparation, and failure to do that can send favorites home before the opening week of play is over.
Although the likes of Novak Djokovic, Serena Williams and Rafael Nadal aren't in action, plenty of other title contenders are. Let's take a look at the top matchups on the slate and make some predictions.
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Friday, May 29 French Open Schedule
| 5 a.m. - 10 a.m. | French Open third round | ESPN2 |
| 10 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. | French Open third round | Tennis Channel |
Live Stream: WatchESPN and Tennis Channel Live
No. 2 Roger Federer vs. Damir Dzumhur
Roger Federer has been used to facing youngsters who claim him as their idol for quite some time, but it usually doesn't fail to produce a more exciting match than usual. After all, wouldn't you want to prove yourself to your childhood hero?
That's what Damir Dzumhur aspires to do when he faces Federer in Friday's third-round matchup. The 23-year-old already became the first Bosnian to represent the country in the Roland Garros main draw, but now he's facing an opponent he watched as a youngster.
"I remember when I played a tournament—was it under-12 or under-10? I watched him playing semis, I think Wimbledon, with (Andy) Roddick. That was the first time I was cheering for him," he said, per Martyn Herman of Reuters UK. "Since then he's my idol."
Dzumhur is in the midst of strong play after dispatching Round 1 and 2 foes, and he also has a semifinal appearance on clay this year in the lower-tiered Grand Prix Hassan in Morocco. His opponent may have grown up watching Federer, but that won't make the Swiss star any less thorough in his preparations, per Roland Garros:
Federer will be pushed to match the energy of Dzumhur early on, and it should result in some tighter sets than Federer has in mind. But it's hard to see the Bosnian producing enough breaks and winners to seriously threaten taking one of those sets.
The No. 2 seed will continue his quest for a second French Open with another dominant victory.
Prediction: Federer wins in straight sets.
No. 14 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga vs. Pablo Andujar
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga will attempt to take another step toward France's first French Open title since Yannick Noah in 1983 when he faces Spanish opponent Pablo Andujar in Friday's final match at Philippe-Chatrier Court.
Tsonga and Andujar have played only once in their careers, with Tsonga taking a straight-set win in 2013 at the Shanghai Masters. The Frenchman took care of business Wednesday in straight sets over Dudi Sela, but Andujar had to wait and finish his second-round win over No. 22 Philipp Kohlschreiber on Thursday after the sun set on their Wednesday match.
The No. 14 seed should be confident after dispatching his first two opponents in straight sets. Not only has he failed to lose a set, but he's also won all but one of them by a score of 6-2 or better.
Andujar has played well so far at Roland Garros, but he figures to have a disadvantage with Tsonga having some extra rest time. That should only help Tsonga's case in controlling this one from the get-go.
Prediction: Tsonga wins in straight sets.
No. 21 Garbine Muguruza vs. No. 11 Angelique Kerber
The third round typically breeds evenly matched affairs for seeds in the middle of the draw, and it's produced a gripping match between No. 21 Garbine Muguruza and 11th-seeded Angelique Kerber.
Both players have had their fair share of success at Roland Garros, as each has advanced to the quarterfinals, with Muguruza recently doing so in 2014. She looks intent on getting back there this year but will have to face a foe who has her number and is peaking.
Muguruza's power hitting has brought her some big wins over the course of her career, but she's 0-3 all time against Kerber. To make matters even tougher, Kerber has lost just six total games in her two straight-set wins thus far at Roland Garros.
Kerber's form promises to be too sound for Muguruza to seriously frustrate her as she cruises past a worthy foe and into the fourth round.
Prediction: Kerber wins in straight sets.
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