French Open Tennis 2015: Wednesday Schedule, Predictions and Preview
The 2015 French Open will wrap up the quarterfinal round on Wednesday, and it could be tough for the day's action to match the surprise drama that Tuesday provided.
No. 8 Stanislas Wawrinka upset No. 2 Roger Federer in straight sets on Day 10, 6-4, 6-3, 7-6(7-4). Wawrinka's fast, aggressive play produced 43 winners, per RolandGarros.com, and earned him a famous win.
In five long sets, No. 14 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga defeated No. 5 Kei Nishikori, 6-1, 6-4, 4-6, 3-6, 6-3, in a match that had a bizarre, frightening delay when a metal piece of the scoreboard broke off and fell into the stands.
The women's draw was rather less eventful, with No. 7 Ana Ivanovic easily dispatching No. 19 Elina Svitolina in two sets, while No. 13 Lucie Safarova continued her sparkling run in Paris with a 7-6 (3), 6-3 victory over No. 21 Garbine Muguruza.
There's an explosive matchup between two of the world's best embedded in Day 12's slate. Here's a look at the Wednesday singles draw schedule with predictions, followed by a preview of the match to watch.
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Schedule, Predictions
| Round | Court | Time (ET) | Matchup | Prediction |
| Quarterfinal | Philippe-Chatrier Court | 8 a.m. (after women's draw) | No. 1 Novak Djokovic vs. No. 6 Rafael Nadal | Nadal in five |
| Quarterfinal | Suzanne-Lenglen Court | 8 a.m. (after women's draw) | No. 3 Andy Murray vs. No. 7 David Ferrer | Murray in four |
| Round | Court | Time (ET) | Matchup | Prediction |
| Quarterfinal | Philippe-Chatrier Court | 8 a.m. | No. 23 Timea Bacsinszky vs. Alison Van Uytvanck | Bacsinszky in two |
| Quarterfinal | Suzanne-Lenglen Court | 8 a.m. | No. 1 Serena Williams vs. No. 17 Sara Errani | Williams in two |
A complete schedule is available at RolandGarros.com.
Preview: Rafael Nadal vs. Novak Djokovic
It's safe to say Rafael Nadal, who's mastered clay like no one else in tennis, has never faced a tougher quarterfinal opponent at Roland Garros than current world No. 1 Novak Djokovic. Christopher Clarey of the New York Times broke down what's at stake for these two men on Wednesday, as well as the novelty of this high-caliber quarterfinal:
"It is, quite possibly, the highest-profile men’s quarterfinal of the Open era. Nadal is on the quest for “La Decima” — a 10th title in Paris. Djokovic is trying to win the only Grand Slam singles title he lacks, having been thwarted here six times by Nadal in the past decade.
The only recent quarterfinal with this kind of heft was the 2001 duel between the American yin and yang, Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi, at the United States Open. That produced one of their finest matches, won by Sampras after four tiebreakers.
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Nadal is still the player who's lost but once in his career at the French Open, but his clay-court form took a dip this year and kept him from a top seed in this year's bracket.
The Spaniard appears to have righted the ship at the French Open, making it to the fourth round against Jack Sock before dropping a set. He's also 6-0 against Djokovic at Roland Garros, 23-20 overall against the Serbian. Djoker is well aware that Nadal is a different animal entirely on the rust-colored clay of Roland Garros.
| Rio De Janeiro | Semifinals | Fabio Fognini | 6-1, 2-6, 5-7 |
| Buenos Aires | Finals (win) | Juan Monaco | 6-4, 6-1 |
| Masters 1000- Monte Carlo | Semifinals | Djokovic | 3-6, 3-6 |
| Barcelona | R16 | Fabio Fognini | 4-6, 6-7(6) |
| Masters 1000- Madrid | Finals (loss) | Andy Murray | 3-6, 2-6 |
| Masters 1000- Rome | Quarterfinals | Stan Wawrinka | 6-7 (7), 2-6 |
"Playing him here and playing him in any other tournament in the world is completely different. Conditions are very suitable to his style of the game," he said, per Clarey.
Djokovic himself has had very little trouble at the French Open this year so far, defeating all four of his opponents in straight sets. He seems to be getting better as the tournament goes on, making simple work of No. 20 Richard Gasquet in the fourth round, 6-1, 6-2, 6-3.
He's also riding a 26-match winning streak (25 not including a walkover at Indian Wells). It's the man who essentially never loses at Roland Garros versus the man who's playing like he might never lose again.
Nadal has tried to downplay the titanic nature of the match, pointing out that the winner will have plenty more work to do after what should be an entertaining clash.
"It is not the final, you know," said Nadal, via BBC Sport's Piers Newbery. "It's a quarter-final. And, no, the winner of that match will not be the Roland Garros champion."
Nadal can give himself a fantastic 29th birthday gift Wednesday with a win; look for him to prevail in five grueling sets.
The winner from this half of the bracket would seem to be stark favorite to win the whole tournament. That goes doubly so for the winner of Nadal-Djokovic. Both have the qualities (obviously) to defeat either David Ferrer or Andy Murray in the semis, although the latter has been playing brilliantly on clay this year.
The winner of the Tsonga-Wawrinka semifinal would be a major underdog in the final, although the atmosphere would be positively electric if it were Tsonga, who's looking to become the first Frenchman since Yannick Noah in 1983 to win the French Open.
Prediction: Nadal wins
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