French Open 2017: Saturday Schedule and Predictions for Roland Garros Bracket

Andy Murray will be back in action at the 2017 French Open on Saturday when the world No. 1 takes on 29th seed Juan Martin del Potro, while No. 8 seed Kei Nishikori faces Hyeon Chung in his third-round fixture.

Murray is yet to book a straight-sets win so far at Roland Garros this year, and Del Potro was level on one set apiece before second-round opponent Nicolas Almagro was forced to retire due to a knee injury. 

Elsewhere, third seed Stanislas Wawrinka will look to advance to the fourth round when he goes up against Fabio Fognini, and Marin Cilic is set to do battle against Spaniard Feliciano Lopez.

Simona Halep is the highest-remaining seed in the women's bracket, and she faces Russian Daria Kasatkina on Saturday hoping to advance her run in Paris, while fifth seed Elina Svitolina takes on Magda Linette.

There's also a challenge on the table for second seed Karolina Pliskova, who will have to beat Carina Witthoft if she's to advance in the tournament stakes.

Read on for a breakdown of Saturday's 2017 French Open schedule, complete with a preview of the day's fixture slate and predictions for who we'll see progress to the next phase of the competition.

Men's Singles (Predicted Winner)

• [8] Kei Nishikori vs. Hyeon Chung (Nishikori)
• Kyle Edmund vs. Kevin Anderson (Anderson)
• [24] Richard Gasquet vs. [15] Gael Monfils (Monfils)
• [21] John Isner vs. Karen Khachanov (Isner)
• [7] Marin Cilic vs. Feliciano Lopez (Cilic)
• [1] Andy Murray vs. [29] Juan Martin del Potro (Murray)
• Fernando Verdasco vs. [22] Pablo Cuevas (Cuevas)
• [3] Stanislas Wawrinka vs. [28] Fabio Fognini (Wawrinka)

Women's Singles (Predicted Winner)

• Veronica Cepede Royg vs. Mariana Duque-Marino (Sepede)
• [9] Agnieszka Radwanska vs. Alize Cornet (Radwanska)
• [28] Caroline Garcia vs. Su-Wei Hsieh (Garcia)
• [3] Simona Halep vs. [26] Daria Kasatkina (Halep)
• [17] Anastasija Sevastova vs. Petra Martic (Sevastova)
• [5] Elina Svitolina vs. Magda Linette (Svitolina)
• [14] Elena Vesnina vs. [21] Carla Suarez Navarro (Navarro)
• [2] Karolina Pliskova vs. Carina Witthoft (Pliskova)

For the schedule in full visit the Roland Garros website.

Preview

Murray will return for the third round undoubtedly hoping to improve upon his second-round showing, having been forced to respond from a set down in his meeting with Martin Klizan before triumphing 6-7(3), 6-2, 6-2, 7-6(3).

The Scot hasn't enjoyed the most comfortable 2017 thus far, but Murray is beginning to show glimpses of his 2016 form at Roland Garros, with some shots of brilliance beaming through during Thursday's victory:

Wawrinka, on the other hand, has been ruthless en route to the third round and beat both Jozef Kovalik and Alexandr Dolgopolov in straight sets, although No. 28 seed Fognini is likely to offer a stiffer challenge to the Swiss star.

Fognini's good form on clay throws a slight spanner in the works for Wawrinka, but at noted by the ATP, his record against the Italian is a strong one, and it helps the latter has won both their clashes on clay prior to now:

Nishikori looks to be the most dangerous possible quarter-final foe for Murray, and he takes on South Korean Chung directly after he knocked out home favourite Jeremy Chardy with a convincing 6-3, 6-0, 7-6(5) win.

Japanese titan Nishikori has been seeking a decent stretch of full fit play for some time now, but Jose Morgado of Portuguese daily Record recently commented on his need to capitalise upon a fruitful French Open draw:

In the women's competition, both Pliskova and Halep will return to the action against lower-seeded opponents, and Halep is seeking to retain her 100 per cent record at Roland Garros this year, having yet to lose a set in the competition.

There were concerns regarding Halep's existing ankle concerns coming to Roland Garros, but she told the press after her second-round beating of Tatjana Maria that she is back to her best, via WTA Insider:

In the same vein, Pliskova should have the means to overcome Witthoft despite stuttering in her 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 victory over Ekaterina Alexandrova in her most recent outing.

Another Russian, No. 14 seed Elena Vesnina, may be a higher seed than her third-round foe, 21st seed Carla Suarez Navarro, but her opponent's strength on clay could set the stage for a surprise in Saturday's draw.