The third round of the French Open is due to end around Roland Garros on Saturday as the remaining matches in the round are scheduled to be played out. The tournament is playing a little bit of catch up after rain ended proceedings early on Friday.
We’ve got some huge names on show on the big courts on Saturday with the likes of Rafael Nadal, Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova, Juan Martin del Potro and Simona Halep taking to the courts once again.
Day 6 Recap
We saw wins for Novak Djokovic and Dominic Thiem in relatively comfortable fashion while Alexander Zverev had to battle through in five sets but it was a day of upsets around the grounds on Friday. Elina Svitolina, Pablo Carreno Busta and Grigor Dimitrov all bit the dust. Caroline Wozniacki was the final winner before the rain came down.
It wasn’t to be for our bets though. The men’s over looked to be good when the first set between Fernando Verdasco and Grigor Dimitrov went to a tiebreak but the Bulgarian collapsed in a heap after losing it while Naomi Osaka couldn’t get any change out of an impressive looking Madison Keys.
Philippe Chatrier Court
The former champion Garbine Muguruza opens up on the main court when she takes on a woman who has been to the final here in Sam Stosur. Lucas Pouille is then back on court to finish his match with Karen Khachenov before the big women’s match of the day as Karolina Pliskova goes up against Maria Sharapova. Rafael Nadal is in action in the penultimate match of the day when he plays local hero Richard Gasquet before Albert Ramos-Vinolas plays Juan Martin del Potro in the final match of the day.
Suzanne Lenglen Court
Britain’s Kyle Edmund is up first on the second court. He takes on the clay court specialist Fabio Fognini before David Goffin and Gael Monfils come back to settle their match which went uncompleted on Friday. Caroline Garcia follows them when she plays Irina-Camelia Begu and then Serena Williams looks to make it back into the second week of a Slam. Julia Goerges is her opponent. John Isner then plays yet another Frenchman in Pierre-Hugues Herbert in the final match on the court.
Court 1
Petra Kvitova and Anett Kontaveit were due on court on Friday but couldn’t get on. They open up play on this court before Kevin Anderson takes on Mischa Zverev, who will be hoping to join his brother in the next round. Marin Cilic then takes on Steve Johnson with the final match on show on this court being an intriguing women’s match between Angelique Kerber and Kiki Bertens which looks likely to be tight throughout.
Best of the Rest
Amazingly you have to go to Court 18 if you want to watch the women’s number one Simona Halep on Saturday. She faces Andrea Petkovic while US Open champion Sloane Stephens, Diego Schwartzman, Daria Gavrilova and Elise Mertens can all be found dotted around the grounds over the course of the day.
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Men’s Betting
There is only one men’s match which catches my attention on Saturday and it sees Diego Schwartzman taking on Borna Coric. Schwartzman has cruised into this third round, dropping just 10 games along the way, while Coric has twice had to go four sets. Admittedly Schwartzman hasn’t faced much in the tournament yet but sometimes being fresh as a daisy counts for as much as who you’ve played at this stage of a busy week. I don’t expect Coric to go without a fight but Schwartzman loves a scrap too and I think he can come through here.
Women’s Betting
I’ll go with two in the women’s draw with the first one being over 22.5 games in the match between Karolina Pliskova and Maria Sharapova. This is going to be a physical, hard hitting match between two of the cleanest hitters in the game. Ordinarily I would fancy the stronger serve of Pliskova to win the day here but I don’t think there will be much in it at any stage. One close set and one deep set covers this line but if it goes to three sets, which wouldn’t surprise anyone, then it will definitely cover so I’ll take the over here.
Historically betting against Serena Williams is the quickest route to the poorhouse but I’ve got to take her on with the clean hitting and much more match sharp Julia Goerges. The German went deep in Charleston where she lost to Kiki Bertens in the final while she won the tournament in Hobart earlier in the year, albeit on a hard court. Serena has come through her two matches so far but she’s had to battle on both occasions. Goerges hits bigger than either of her two opponents so far and this could be the day Serena’s story pauses for now.
Tips
WON – Back D.Schwartzman to beat B.Coric for a 4/10 stake at 2.38 with Bet365
Back M.Sharapova vs K.Pliskova – Over 22.5 games for a 4/10 stake at 1.96 with 888sport
Back it here:
Back J.Goerges to beat S.Williams for a 4/10 stake at 2.20 with Ladbrokes
Back her here:
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