French Open 2016: Wednesday Roland Garros Schedule and Bracket Predictions
For the third straight day, the Paris skies opened and sent a downpour that washed out fourth-round action at the 2016 French Open.
Just two matches went to completion Tuesday, both upsets on the women's side that could reshape the entire tournament. Tsvetana Pironkova pulled off a shocking defeat of second-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska, coming back in a match that seemed like it was already over.
Radwanska led the fourth-round match 6-2, 3-0 when play was initially suspended Sunday. The pair sat through Monday's washout and returned early Tuesday, when it seemed like the second seed would waltz against the world's 102nd-ranked player.
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It was not to be.
Playing through soppy conditions, Pironkova won the first 10 games Tuesday as an obviously dispirited Radwanska struggled. The world No. 2 was visibly frustrated with the conditions and couldn't ever get into a rhythm before falling 6-2, 3-6, 3-6.
"I'm surprised and angry. How can you allow players to play in the rain? It's not a $10,000 tournament. It's a Grand Slam," Radwanska said after the match, per Russell Fuller of BBC.
The other matchup, also left over from Sunday, saw Samantha Stosur earn a 7-6 (0), 6-3 win over sixth-seeded Simona Halep. Stosur will take on Pironkova in the quarterfinals, where she'll look to make her fourth career French Open semis.
The remainder of the day? All washed out, with a number of high-profile matches in progress. Those matches will be completed Wednesday—assuming rain doesn't again play a major factor.
| (1) Novak Djokovic vs. (14) Roberto Bautista Agut | Djokovic leads: 3-6, 6-4, 4-1 | Djokovic |
| (12) David Goffin vs. Ernests Gulbis | Gulbis leads: 3-0 | Goffin |
| (13) Dominic Thiem vs. Marcel Granollers | Tied: 6-2, 6-7 (2) | Granollers |
| (7) Tomas Berdych vs. (11) David Ferrer | Ferrer leads: 2-1 | Ferrer |
Top seed Novak Djokovic leads Roberto Bautista Agut 3-6, 6-4, 4-1 in the third set of their fourth-round match. Djokovic seemed a little unnerved by the conditions, posting four double-faults and 38 unforced errors in less than three full sets. His relative successes were built mainly on Bautista Agut's own troubles with unforced errors; he made 24 of his 35 mistakes after winning the first set.
The rain may wind up helping 12th-seeded David Goffin and 13th-seeded Dominic Thiem avoid a brush with upset city. Goffin did not look in fine form, as he allowed Ernests Gulbis to take a 3-0 lead in the first set of their fourth-round match. Gulbis looked rested after having to play only seven games in his third-round win over Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who was forced to retire because of injury.
Thiem was locked in what was shaping up to be a battle with Marcel Granollers. The 22-year-old took the first set 6-2 before losing the second in a 7-2 tiebreak. Granollers has reached the fourth round in Paris two previous times but has never been a quarterfinalist.
The other leftover match from Tuesday has 11th-seeded David Ferrer holding a 2-1 lead over Tomas Berdych in the first set.
| (2) Andy Murray vs. (9) Richard Gasquet | Murray |
| (3) Stan Wawrinka vs. Albert Ramos-Vinolas | Wawrinka |
| (1) Serena Williams vs. (18) Elina Svitolina | Williams |
| (4) Garbine Muguruza vs. Shelby Rogers | Muguruza |
| (8) Timea Bacsinszky vs. (9) Venus Williams | Bacsinszky |
| (12) Carla Suarez Navarro vs. Yulia Putintseva | Suarez Navarro |
| (15) Madison Keys vs. Kiki Bertens | Bertens |
| (21) Samantha Stosur vs. Tsvetana Pironkova | Stosur |
Wednesday's slate will try to finish those matches and a number of others that have been waiting days to get underway. Serena Williams is scheduled to be on Philippe-Chatrier Court in the early morning for a match with 18th-seeded Elina Svitolina. Williams has yet to lose a set in Paris and is looking to win the second Grand Slam in back-to-back years for the first time ever.
Still, Williams has been far from perfect. She needed a 22-point tiebreaker to defeat Kristina Mladenovic in a match that could have gone anyone's way Saturday.
“They are all humans, and sometimes they don’t think right, and when they don’t think right, they don’t act right. ... She was in danger,” explained coach Patrick Mouratoglou, per Nick McCarvel of USA Today. “But the good thing is, being in danger and being really far from her best, she could find a way to win. It woke her up.”
Venus Williams is headed into her fourth-round matchup with Timea Bacsinszky, looking to make her first French Open quarters in a decade. The No. 9 seed can play sister Serena in the semifinals if she continues her late-career renaissance with a deep run here.
Also slated for play is the beginning of quarterfinals action, with second-seeded Andy Murray and third-seeded Stan Wawrinka prepared for their fifth matches in Paris. Murray will take on home favorite Richard Gasquet, who should have a loaded crowd of support if weather permits. The pair are slated for the evening session at Philippe-Chatrier Court, which should make for a must-watch match.
Wawrinka should, at least on paper, have an easier time with unseeded Albert Ramos-Vinolas. The Spaniard upset Jack Sock and Milos Raonic to make his first quarterfinal in a major; he had lost in the first round each of the previous four years at Roland Garros.
Still, more than anything, the organizers are hoping the weather holds off. As of publication, Weather.com gives Wednesday just a 20 percent chance of precipitation in the morning. That increases to 70 percent at night, continuing into Thursday.
That means we could very well be in the same situation come Wednesday afternoon.
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