French Open 2021: Wednesday Roland Garros Schedule and Bracket Predictions

Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal are each one win away from a semifinal showdown at the 2021 French Open.

The play of the two players at Roland Garros suggests that matchup will likely happen. Djokovic is the only one of the pair to drop sets, both of which were in the fourth round.

Djokovic's response to falling two sets behind Lorenzo Musetti showed us once again that he can respond to his opponents' best tennis.

Nadal has been on cruise control, as he typically is on the Paris clay. He has not dropped a set at Roland Garros since the 2019 final, and he faces an opponent he bested in three sets in last year's semifinals.

The two women's singles quarterfinals that start the day on Court Philippe-Chatrier could set up a big-time semifinal match.

American teenager Coco Gauff is coming off her best performance in Paris, while reigning champion Iga Swiatek has been near impossible to beat.

Wednesday's full schedule at Roland Garros can be found here on the tournament's official website.

Predictions

Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal Set Up Semifinal Clash

One of the easiest predictions to make over the last week-and-a-half has been for Djokovic and Nadal to advance with ease.

The only time that was threatened came in the fourth round, when Djokovic fell in the first two sets to Musetti.

The Italian teenager played perfect tennis, but then the No. 1 seed countered with his version of immaculate play and lost a single game in three sets before Musetti retired.

Djokovic takes on another Italian on Wednesday in No. 9 seed Matteo Berrettini, who is making his second-ever Grand Slam quarterfinal appearance.

Berrettini played Djokovic once at the 2019 ATP Tour finals and managed to earn three games off the Serbian.

The No. 9 seed had the best possible situation play out in his favor, as he avoided Roger Federer in the round of 16 after the No. 8 seed withdrew from the tournament.

Berrettini has an extra two days off, and that may matter in the first set, but if he fails to challenge Djokovic early, he could be in a world of trouble.

Djokovic should come out with an extra dose of motivation to erase the poor start that plagued him Monday.

On paper, Nadal faces the more difficult matchup since Diego Schwartzman rolled through each of his four opponents in straight sets.

The 10th-seeded Argentine has three quarterfinal appearances at the last four French Opens, but he has a horrid record against Nadal.

The reigning champion at Roland Garros is 10-1 all-time against Schwartzman, and he rolled through him in straight sets in the final four last year.

Nadal should breeze through Schwartzman in straight sets to set up an epic clash with Djokovic that we typically see in a Grand Slam final.

Coco Gauff, Iga Swiatek Move On to Women's Semifinals

Swiatek is playing at a Nadal-like level on the clay right now.

The reigning women's champion has four straight-set victories on her tournament resume this year and seems poised to make a repeat attempt Saturday.

Maria Sakkari's fourth-round win over Sofia Kenin marked a breakthrough for the Greek in her career. She is appearing in her first-ever Grand Slam quarterfinal.

Similar to Schwartzman in the men's draw, Sakkari may not stand much of a chance against an unstoppable force on the clay.

Sakkari has never played Swiatek head-to-head, so she does not have an advantage in trying to pick apart any weaknesses she may have.

Swiatek faced some challenges in previous sets in Paris, but she answered every one of them, and until someone proves she can be broken, it is incredibly hard to pick against her.

On Monday, Gauff looked more ruthless than Swiatek, as she breezed past Ons Jabeur in less than an hour.

The American teenager has the most favorable final eight matchup of any seeded player, as she takes on Barbora Krejcikova.

Both players will be playing their first singles Grand Slam quarterfinal matches. They both have advanced far in doubles competitions.

Gauff and Krejcikova have not played each other before, and the 17-year-old needs to beware of the threat posed by the Czech woman.

Krejcikova owns straight-set wins over Elina Svitolina, Ekaterina Alexandrova and Sloane Stephens. She lost two games in her last victory against Stephens.

Gauff is in the best overall form of the two. Each player won the last tournament they entered before Paris, but the American was more consistent during the clay-court season.

Gauff went 12-3 in four clay-court tournaments, with her only losses coming to three seeded players: Swiatek, Jabeur and Karolina Pliskova.

If Gauff continues to play with confidence Wednesday, she should grab hold of the edge in the match and set up a second match with Swiatek in the last month. Swiatek defeated Gauff in the Rome semifinals.

Statistics obtained from ATPTour.com and WTATennis.com.