French Open 2017: Wednesday Roland Garros Schedule and Bracket Predictions
Wednesday's bracket for the 2017 French Open is a little bloated after poor weather led to many matches being cancelled on Tuesday at Roland Garros, leaving six quarter-finals to be played.
It means Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray and reigning champion Novak Djokovic will now be in action on the same day in the men's bracket as Stan Wawrinka will also feature in the last eight.
Meanwhile, Simon Halep and Karolina Pliskova will be in action in the women's bracket.
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The Roland Garros official Twitter account confirmed how the weather disrupted play on Tuesday:
For a full look at Wednesday's schedule, visit the Roland Garros official website.
Top Names to all Make it Through
Expect the usual suspects to book their places in the semi-finals of the men's bracket. It means Nadal, Wawrinka, Djokovic and Murray will all make it through.
The latter two face the toughest challenges in the last eight, though. Murray's match with eighth seed Kei Nishikori has the potential to be an instant classic.
Murray was in record-setting form against Russia's Karen Khachanov on Sunday, per ATP Media Info:
What set Murray apart against Khachanov was how he handled the Russian's power, according to BBC Sport's Piers Newbery: "However, the hugely powerful Khachanov, ranked 53rd, was dismissed by another Murray performance built around his trademark defensive skills allied with some solid serving."
Yet what's intriguing about this quarter-final is how Nishiokori plays a similarly cagey game to Murray. Nishikori's stamina has stood out this year at Roland Garros, with the Japanese player surviving a five-set tilt against Chung Hyeon in Round 3, before outlasting Fernando Verdasco over four sets in the fourth round.
Nishikori has the skill and resilience to take Murray to a fourth set, but the World No. 1 will eventually have too much guile to fall to a shock defeat.
A surprise may be on the cards when Dominic Thiem meets Djokovic, who still hasn't truly hit his stride in Paris. Djokovic has been trying to refine his game on the watch of new coach Andre Agassi.
However, former pro Goran Ivanisevic doesn't think the Djokovic and Agassi partnership has much of a shelf life. Ivanisevic told Eurosport's Catherine Whitaker on the Tennis Podcast (h/t the Daily Telegraph): "I love Andre, he’s one of my favourite tennis players, but he has too many things [going on] to be a coach to somebody like Novak Djokovic. You need to be a coach for 20-25 weeks, and I don’t think he has three weeks free in the whole calendar year to be a coach to someone."
Ivanisevic may be right, but for now Agassi is working with Djokovic, a relationship currently strong enough to overwhelm Thiem. The latter has yet to beat Djokovic, per James Gray of the Daily Express.
With history against him, expect Thiem to be eliminated in straight sets.
Things won't go as smoothly for Wawrinka, who could struggle early against big-serving Marin Cilic. However, Wawrinka has played some fine tennis so far at this tournament.
The 2015 winner's superior all-round game will see him through after four sets.
Nadal won't have to wait as long to dispatch Spaniard Pablo Carreno Busta. The former is aiming for an historic 10th title at Roland Garros and has been showing the kind of form it takes to win it.
Nadal has not dropped a single set so far, a run he'll maintain to reach the last four.
Elina Svitolina to Upset Halep
It's been a tournament of comebacks for Elina Svitolina, who has twice battled back from a set down to progress. The fifth seed will need to do the same again to see off Halep.
Svitolina's biggest challenge will be overcoming a fresher opponent. While she was forcing a decider against Petra Martic, Halep was booking her place in the quarter-final in "exactly one hour," per BBC Sport, at the expense of Carla Suarez Navarro.
Yet this is increasingly starting to feel like Svitolina's year, a feeling she can strengthen by getting past Halep after another decider.
The other quarter-final in the women's bracket will see Pliskova take on French player Caroline Garcia. Making the last eight at Roland Garros has merely continued Pliskova's progress at Grand Slam events in recent years, per WTA Insider:
Her performances haven't always been convincing, but the Czech Republic player is starting to feel confident:
Greater belief will help Pliskova join Svitolina in the last four.
Barring one mild upset, the big names left in both brackets will each take a step closer to the final on Wednesday.
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