French Open 2021: Friday Schedule and Predictions for Roland-Garros Bracket

The first seeded matchups of the 2021 French Open take center stage Friday.

The afternoon session on Court Philippe-Chatrier begins with No. 15 Victoria Azarenka and No. 23 Madison Keys in one of the two ranked showdowns in the bottom half of the women's singles draw.

Keys will try to extend the terrific run for American women on the Paris clay. Eight of the 32 women left in the draw come from the United States.

The four American men remaining in Roland-Garros all face difficult challenges Friday, with John Isner taking on the toughest opponent in Stefanos Tsitsipas.

Isner, Reilly Opelka, Steve Johnson and Marcos Giron all compete against seeded foes in the third round. The schedule for Friday's matches at Roland-Garros can be found on the tournament's website.

Predictions

Madison Keys, Victoria Azarenka Put On Match of the Day

Azarenka and Keys have the potential to deliver the best match of the day right off the bat on Chatrier.

Both players won four sets and lost one in their first two matches. Azarenka faced the toughest opponent so far in Svetlana Kuznetsova in the opening round.

Even though both players have been on the WTA Tour for some time, they have only met once. Keys was forced to retire in the second set of that match in Miami in 2018.

The American did not have the best buildup to Paris, as she went 1-3 in her past three tournaments and was swept by reigning French Open champion Iga Swiatek in Rome before heading to Roland-Garros. The No. 23 seed rebounded from those poor results on the European clay-court circuit to set up the showdown with Azarenka.

Azarenka played one match during the clay-court season in April and May, and this year marks the first time she has made it beyond the second round in Paris since 2015. The No. 15 seed has one semifinal appearance and two quarterfinal berths at Roland-Garros, so she knows how to win on the surface when at her best.

If Keys plays like she did in the first two rounds and Azarenka continues to round into form, we could witness a three-set epic.

The opener on Chatrier should be the third-round match with the most intrigue since third seed Aryna Sabalenka is expected to roll over No. 31 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the day's other seeded contest.

Serena Williams, Elena Rybakina, Marketa Vondrousova and Paula Badosa all play unseeded foes, and there are two contests between unseeded women Friday. 

American Men Struggle to Advance

The number of American men alive in Paris should plummet Friday.

Isner, Johnson, Giron and Opelka all face difficult matchups with seeded players who are expected to make deep runs.

On paper, Opelka has the toughest match with No. 2 seed Daniil Medvedev. The Russian has been much better on clay this year and has dropped only one set in two matches.

Opelka won his last meeting with Medvedev on a hard court in St. Petersburg, Russia, but he lost the first set in that match in convincing fashion. He failed to close out Jaume Munar in straight sets Wednesday, which could end up being his downfall in a match wherein he needs to take advantage of any mistake.

Isner owns two head-to-head wins over No. 5 Tsitsipas, but he dropped each of his past three meetings with the Greek, who has not lost a set in Paris this year.

Johnson lost in his only clay court meeting against Pablo Carreno Busta, while Giron has never met Cristian Garin.

Each of the American men will be viewed as the underdog in his match, and if even one advances, it would be a shock given their stature in the draw.

Statistics obtained from ATPTour.com and WTATennis.com.