French Open 2021: Tuesday Roland Garros Schedule and Bracket Predictions

The most anticipated men's singles match to date at the 2021 French Open takes place Tuesday night.

Stefanos Tsitsipas and Daniil Medvedev face off in the first top-five clash of the tournament for a spot in the semifinals. 

The winner will likely face Alexander Zverev in the final four, which means none of the young stars need to defeat Novak Djokovic or Rafael Nadal to get to the final. 

One of those three players still has to take on Djokovic or Nadal in the final, but the draw was made in their favor. 

Tsitsipas is looking to qualify for his first Grand Slam final, while Medvedev is trying to get to his second one this season. 

Each of the four women playing on Court Philippe Chatrier on Tuesday will be aiming for their first-ever Grand Slam singles semifinal appearance. 

Elena Rybakina, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, Paula Badosa and Tamara Zidanesk formed an unlikely quartet left in the bottom half of the draw after all of the top players lost or withdrew from Roland Garros. 

Tuesday's full schedule on the Paris clay can be found here on the tournament's official website. 

Predictions

Tsitsipas Eliminates Medvedev

Medvedev owns a 6-1 head-to-head record over Tsitsipas, but the Greek may have an edge for Tuesday's quarterfinal. 

Tsitsipas won his lone match against the second-seeded Russian in 2019, which was the second-to-last time they met. The fifth seed also pushed Medvedev to three sets in their lone clay-court meeting in Monaco in 2019. 

Tsitsipas looked cleaner on the Paris clay in the first four rounds. His only dropped set came against John Isner in the third round. Falling down one set to Isner and his powerful serve is nothing to be concerned about.

Medvedev looked shaky at the start of his second-round match with Tommy Paul before he turned it around with a 6-1 second-set win. 

Even though Medvedev played well over the last week, clay is still his worst surface. He did not have a French Open main-draw victory before his first-round win over Alexander Bublik. 

Tsitsipas has been to three Grand Slam semifinals in the last three years, including at the 2020 French Open when he lost in five sets to Djokovic. 

The 22-year-old could also have revenge on his mind from losing in straight sets to Medvedev at the Australian Open. 

If the match were played on hard court, Medvedev would be viewed as the clear favorite, but the clay levels out the matchup more; Tsitsipas has cruised through all four of his victories. 

A win does not guarantee Tsitsipas a spot in the final, but he should feel more comfortable against Zverev. He is 5-2 overall against the German. 

Pavlyuchenkova Benefits from Prior Grand Slam Experience

Pavlyuchenkova is the only woman participating in Tuesday's quarterfinals with extensive Grand Slam experience. 

The 29-year-old has been to the final eight on five occasions. The first of those five berths was at the 2011 French Open. She has not gotten past that stage in her career, but the experience of those matches could be vital when taking on Rybakina. 

Pavlyuchenkova and Rybakina have never met head-to-head. The same can be said about the other semifinal between Zidanesk and Badosa. 

In her five quarterfinal matches, Pavlyuchenkova won two sets and pushed Venus Williams to a tiebreak at the 2017 Australian Open. The Russian's record in the final eight is not great, but any edge matters at this point of the tournament—and she has that with her experience and results over the last two rounds. 

Pavlyuchenkova defeated No. 3 Aryna Sabalenka and No. 15 Victoria Azarenka in three sets, so she will be prepared for a battle if the match gets to that point. 

Rybakina had an easier path to the final eight with one victory over a seeded player, albeit it was Serena Williams. 

Prior to Paris, the Russian-born Kazakhstani had not won more than two matches at a single WTA event this season. Although she altered that mark at Roland Garros, her surprising run may end at the hands of a more experienced player. 

Statistics obtained from ATPTour.com and WTATennis.com.