French Open 2016: Saturday Schedule and Predictions for Roland Garros Bracket
The 2016 French Open rolls on Saturday with the second half of Round 3. Several of the sport's biggest stars will be in action hoping to punch their ticket to the second week, including the top seeds in both draws, Serena Williams and Novak Djokovic.
Weather could play a role in the proceedings, though. The Weather Channel forecasts a 50 percent chance of scattered thunderstorms for the seventh day of play in the season's second major, which also got off to a rainy start.
Let's check out all of the important details for Saturday's matches, assuming the rain holds off. That's followed by a preview of the top matches to watch from Roland Garros.
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Saturday Viewing Information
Where: Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France
When: 5 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. ET
Watch: Tennis Channel (5 a.m. – Noon) and NBC (Noon – 2:30 p.m.)
Live Stream: NBC Sports Live Extra
May 28 Schedule
| Court Philippe Chatrier | 1st | (8) Timea Bacsinszky vs. Pauline Parmentier |
| Court Philippe Chatrier | 2nd | (1) Serena Williams vs. (26) Kristina Mladenovic |
| Court Philippe Chatrier | 3rd | (6) Jo-Wilfried Tsonga vs. Ernests Gulbis |
| Court Philippe Chatrier | 4th | (1) Novak Djokovic vs. Aljaz Bedene |
| Court Suzanne Lenglen | 1st | (13) Dominic Thiem vs. Alexander Zverev |
| Court Suzanne Lenglen | 2nd | (9) Venus Williams vs. Alize Cornet |
| Court Suzanne Lenglen | 3rd | (12) David Goffin vs. Nicolas Almagro |
| Court Suzanne Lenglen | 4th | (15) Madison Keys vs. Monica Puig |
| Court 1 | 1st | (14) Ana Ivanovic vs, (18) Elina Svitolina |
| Court 1 | 2nd | (11) David Ferrer vs. (21) Feliciano Lopez |
| Court 1 | 3rd | (7) Tomas Berdych vs. (25) Pablo Cuevas |
| Court 1 | 4th | (29) Daria Kasatkina vs. Kiki Bertens |
| Court 2 | 1st | (12) Carla Suarez Navarro vs. (22) Dominika Cibulkova |
| Court 6 | 1st | Yulia Putintseva vs. Karin Knapp |
| Court 6 | 4th | (14) Roberto Bautista Agut vs. Borna Coric |
Top Matches
Men: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga vs. Ernests Gulbis
The quarter of the draw featuring Tsonga and Gulbis suddenly became wide open Friday when No. 4 seed Rafael Nadal withdrew because of a wrist injury, per Roland Garros. Jon Wertheim of Sports Illustrated noted the fan favorite said, "Every day is worse," as he originally tried to play through the pain.
While no player wants to advance because of somebody else's injury, there's no doubt Nadal's exit creates a golden opportunity for those in his quarter. Carl Bialik of FiveThirtyEight noted Tsonga and Gulbis have the big-match experience edge among the seven players:
Perhaps the biggest question heading into the match is Tsonga's recovery. He's coming off a hard-fought, highly entertaining encounter with Marcos Baghdatis. The charismatic shot-makers put on a show for five sets, but that could make bouncing back quite difficult.
The Frenchman talked afterward about the mental toughness he needed to complete a comeback from two sets down, as relayed by David Waldstein of the New York Times.
"In my head I was thinking, 'Oh, oh, that's really a bad start,'" Tsonga said. "But then I thought, I have to remain calm, serene, because a tennis match could be very long and very tough."
Meanwhile, the enigmatic Gulbis advanced through the first two rounds without dropping a set despite facing a pair of formidable foes in Andreas Seppi and Joao Sousa. It's the first time he's advanced to the third round of a major since the French Open two years ago, when he reached the semifinals.
Talent has never really be a question for Gulbis. He's capable of competing with just about anybody on tour when he finds top form. The issue is those moments of truly top-tier play have been fleeting throughout the 27-year-old Latvian's career.
Ultimately, this match should feature plenty of twists and turns. If Tsonga was able to fully recover physically from his battle with Baghdatis, he should advance. But there will probably be some lulls along the way, leading to another long stay on court.
Prediction: Tsonga in five sets
Women: Serena Williams vs. Kristina Mladenovic
Williams is the tournament's defending champion, but her lack of dominance since the US Open last year created a more wide-open feel at the outset. Her play over the first two rounds has once again moved her into the role of clear favorite, though.
She made quick work of both Magdalena Rybarikova and Teliana Pereira. She had 56 winners with just 22 unforced errors in those matches, using her immense power to easily overwhelm her opponents, even on the slower surface.
Of course, her comprehensive victories in the early rounds are expected on the Grand Slam stage, as showcased by Wertheim:
Facing Mladenovic likely won't be nearly as easy. That's not only because she's a seeded player, but also due to the fact the home crowd should be squarely in her corner, which will probably make it feel like a road game in a team sport for the top seed.
Saturday's clash represents the pair's first career meeting, as well. It adds another dash of uncertainty into the equation, which is something top players always want to avoid.
Looking ahead, one storyline that continues to become more possible with each passing round is a Williams sisters matchup in the semifinals. Greg Garber of ESPN noted it's not something Serena thinks much about right now, but knows Venus and herself will look back fondly in the future.
"In a few years we'll be like, 'Wow, that's a great moment,'" the younger sister said. "But right now, we have to be focused on what we want to do in going out there and winning the match."
They each have a couple more opponents to defeat before that could become reality, however. Williams should be pushed more hard in Round 3 by Mladenovic. It will be intriguing to see how she responds, but her track record suggests she'll find a way to advance.
Prediction: Williams in three sets
All match stats courtesy of the tournament's official site.
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