Account
French Open 2020: Wednesday Schedule and Predictions for Roland Garros Bracket
September 29, 2020
With the first round complete, the second round of the 2020 French Open is set to begin in the men's and women's singles draws on Wednesday in Paris.
The first two days saw a few minor upsets. Almost all of the top contenders remain on the women's side, with ninth-seeded Johanna Konta the highest seed bounced. The men's side has already seen No. 4 Daniil Medvedev and No. 8 Gael Monfils sent packing.
Rafael Nadal, Serena Williams, Dominic Thiem, Elina Svitolina and Coco Gauff are among the notable names featuring in Wednesday's matches. Action on the three stadium courts will begin at 11 a.m. local time (5 a.m. ET).
Wednesday Schedule
Court Philippe Chatrier
Elina Svitolina [3] vs. Renata Zarazua
Tsvetana Pironkova vs. Serena Williams [6]
Mackenzie McDonald vs. Rafael Nadal [2]
Alexander Zverev [6] vs. Pierre-Hugues Herbert
Court Suzanne Lenglen
Stan Wawrinka [16] vs. Dominik Koepfer
Jack Sock vs. Dominic Thiem [3]
Simona Halep [1] vs. Irina-Camelia Begu
Caroline Garcia vs. Aliaksandra Sasnovich
Court Simonne Mathieu
Victoria Azarenka [10] vs. Anna Karolina Schmiedlova
Lorenzo Giustino vs. Diego Schwartzman [12]
Benoit Paire [23] vs. Federico Coria
Coco Gauff vs. Martina Trevisan
Full schedule available through the French Open's official site
Roland Garros is where Williams has struggled the most of the four Grand Slam events. Between her first victory in 2002 and second triumph in 2013, she made one semifinal appearance.
She had a dominant run between 2013 and 2016, capturing two titles and making one finals appearance, but fourth- and third-round exits in 2018 and 2019 followed in her next two appearances.
Kristie Ahn pushed Williams to a tiebreaker in the first set of their opening-round match before Williams cruised in the second set.
Williams is 5-0 against Tsvetana Pironkova. Three of those meetings went to three sets, though. The three-time French Open champion should advance but not without some difficulty.
Nadal didn't arrive in Paris in the best of form. The Italian Open was his first ATP Tour event since February, and he exited in the quarterfinals thanks to Diego Schwartzman.
"Conditions here probably are the most difficult for me ever in Roland Garros for so many different facts," he told reporters last week. "The balls are completely different, super slow and heavy. It's very cold. Slow conditions. Of course, the preparation has been less than usual [because of the coronavirus pandemic]."
The 12-time champion beat Egor Gerasimov in straight sets to open his 2020 French Open account.
Nadal hasn't crossed paths with Mackenzie McDonald on the ATP Tour before. The element of surprise is unlikely to help McDonald too much, though.
Especially with no Ash Barty in the field, Halep is the top favorite in the women's draw.
As with Williams, Halep wasn't sharp in the opening frame against Sara Sorribes Tormo before dominating the remainder of the match.
The 29-year-old has had Irina-Camelia Begu's number over the years. Not only is Halep 7-0 in singles matches, but she has also dropped only one set to Begu.
Don't count on Begu upsetting her compatriot Wednesday.