French Open 2015: Saturday Schedule and Predictions for Roland Garros Bracket
Top stars at the 2015 French Open are far from unscathed as play enters the first weekend, but Saturday could add a few more upsets to the list before the end of Round 3.
Each of the household names in action Saturday face stiff tests before punching their tickets to the fourth round, headlined by No. 1 Serena Williams' late matchup with No. 27 Victoria Azarenka on the Philippe-Chatrier Court. On the men's side, Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray and Rafael Nadal will need to be at their best against their toughest opponents yet at Roland Garros—or risk falling victim to a shocking upset.
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Along with the top stars, you can also find more evenly matched contests in the mix with players trying to notch career-defining victories and stay around for the second and final week of play.
Here's a breakdown of Saturday's action, along with the schedule and predictions.
2015 French Open: Saturday, May 29
| 5 a.m. - 12 p.m. | French Open third round | Tennis Channel |
| 12 p.m. - 3 p.m. | French Open third round | NBC |
Day 7 Schedule and Predictions
| No. 1 Novak Djokovic vs. Thanasi Kokkinakis | Philippe-Chatrier (2nd) | Djokovic |
| No. 3 Andy Murray vs. No. 29 Nick Kyrgios | Suzanne-Lenglen (1st) | Murray |
| No. 6 Rafael Nadal vs. Andrey Kuznetsov | Suzanne-Lenglen (3rd) | Nadal |
| No. 7 David Ferrer vs. Simone Bolelli | Court 1 (3rd) | Ferrer |
| No. 9 Marin Cilic vs. No. 23 Leonardo Mayer | Court 7 (1st) | Mayer |
| No. 15 Kevin Anderson vs. No. 20 Richard Gasquet | Philippe-Chatrier (3rd) | Anderson |
| No. 1 Serena Williams vs. No. 27 Victoria Azarenka | Philippe-Chatrier (4th) | Williams |
| No. 4 Petra Kvitova vs. No. 30 Irina-Camelia Begu | Philippe-Chatrier (1st) | Kvitova |
| No. 10 Andrea Petkovic vs. No. 17 Sara Errani | Court 1 (1st) | Petkovic |
| No. 13 Timea Bacsinszky vs. No. 16 Madison Keys | Court 2 (2nd) | Keys |
| Tsvetana Pironkova vs. Sloane Stephens | Suzanne-Lenglen (4th) | Stephens |
No. 1 Novak Djokovic vs. Thanasi Kokkinakis
The top seed in the men's bracket doesn't have an average up-and-comer standing between him and the fourth round.
Thanasi Kokkinakis has long been heralded as one of the rising stars in the sport, and that's saying a lot considering he's just 19 years old. He continued his strong play at Roland Garros with a surprise upset of fellow Australian Bernard Tomic Thursday in a comeback from down two sets to none.
While Djokovic hasn't lost a set yet at Roland Garros, he's had some issues to work out himself. He underwent an injury scare to his right groin during a third-round match but said it was nothing to worry about, per Roland Garros on Twitter:
Kokkinakis should be the toughest test Djokovic has faced yet, and it wouldn't be surprising to see him drop his first set of the tournament. But he's won 24 matches straight for a reason and has been unbeatable at Roland Garros in the last four years to anyone not named Nadal.
Nothing short of a dominating performance from the Serbian should be expected.
No. 3 Andy Murray vs. No. 29 Nick Kyrgios
Djokovic isn't alone in having to overcome a test from a rising star from Down Under. Murray will join him in that regard, with a third-round test against No. 29 Nick Kyrgios.
Kyrgios rose to prominence by making it to the quarterfinal at last year's Wimbledon and continued it at his native Australian Open by making another quarterfinal appearance there. But he was overtaken in four sets by Murray in that match and faces the same test in order to make it to the weekend at a third Grand Slam event.
Although Kyrgios has fared well against most of the top stars in the sport, he's had no such luck against Murray, going 0-2 all-time against him, as told by the New York Times' Christopher Clarey:
Kyrgios has the big serve and mobility that is capable of taking down some of the best in tennis, but he's struggled against Murray for a reason. The British star is sound in his technique and takes away big serves with his brilliant return.
Murray has been perfect on clay so far in 2015, and that won't change Saturday as he dispatches Kyrgios yet again.
No. 6 Rafael Nadal vs. Andrey Kuznetsov
Speaking of being perfect on clay, Nadal has been nearly that at Roland Garros, and he'll take his sparkling record into a third-round test against Andrey Kuznetsov.
Much had been made of Nadal's demise heading into the French Open, a place that he's won at nine times and five in a row. He emerged without a title win in his 2015 season prior to the tournament for the first time in nearly a decade and more worrisome, no titles on clay.
But he's shown no such signs thus far, dispatching all three of his early opponents each in straight sets. He figures to do the same against an opponent that has never faced him, and he is going up against both Nadal and the history books.
With the way Nadal has been playing at Roland Garros, it's hard to see anyone—including Djokovic—stopping him and ending his incredible run.
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