The first week of the French Open ends on Saturday when the third round of the tournament concludes across the complex at Roland Garros in Paris, with those in action looking to make it to the last 16 of the final Grand Slam of the year.
We saw the likes of Rafael Nadal, Dominic Thiem and Simona Halep blast their way into the second week on Friday and on Saturday it will be the turn of the Australian Open champions Novak Djokovic and Sofia Kenin to attempt to join them.
Day 6 Recap
It was another day where there was little in the way of opposition for the big names as Dominic Thiem, Simona Halep and Rafael Nadal all cruised through to the next stage on Chatrier. There was a shock elsewhere though as former champion Stan Wawrinka was knocked out. Alexander Zverev, Diego Schwartzman and Elina Svitolina are other players who cruised into the next round but there were defeats for Taylor Fritz and Elise Mertens.
A few technical issues meant that we couldn’t get a preview live for the play on Friday which means we are left looking to bounce back from a poor Thursday on Saturday. Annoyingly Julia Goerges won the first set 6-1 against Laura Siegemund but still lost the match while Pablo Cuevas offered no resistance to Stefanos Tsitsipas and Dusan Lajovic lost in five sets. We picked up a winner with the over 3.5 sets between Alejandro Davidovich Fokina and Andrey Rublev coming in.
Philippe Chatrier Court
It is one of those days where we might be starting with the best match from a competitive point of view on Chatrier as the Italian number on Matteo Berrettini takes on Daniel Altmaier, the German who has surprised in making it this far. We then see the Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin on show when she meets the lowly ranked Irina Bara before the home player Fiona Ferro takes on Patricia Tig in what is a rare opportunity for both to play on the big stage. One person who is no stranger to the main courts is Novak Djokovic and he rounds off the day on the main court when he meets Daniel Galan.
Suzanne Lenglen Court
We should be in for a competitive and tight tussle to open up play on the second court when Roberto Bautista Agut takes on the US Open semi-finalist Pablo Carreno Busta before Stefanos Tsitsipas takes to the court once again. He meets Aljaz Bedene for a place in the last 16. The women then finish off the action on Lenglen as the former Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova meets Leylah Fernandez who is making a big impression in this tournament. The big match from the women’s draw finishes off the schedule as past champion Garbine Muruguza meets Danielle Collins.
Simonne Mathieu Court
We have another tasty looking tussle to open up the play on the third court on Saturday when the Hamburg champion Andrey Rublev meets the two-time Grand Slam finalist Kevin Anderson for a place in the second week. Once they are done another of the remaining home players takes to the court as Clara Burel meets Shuai Zhang. We go back to the men after that as Roberto Carballes Baena takes on Grigor Dimitrov before the former champion Jelena Ostapenko rounds off the show when she takes on Paula Badosa.
Best of the Rest
There are just four singles matches on show around the grounds on Saturday but there are five seeded players on show in them. Two of them meet in one match out on Court 14 where Christian Garin takes on Karen Khachanov while two more meet in the match before that as Aryna Sabalenka takes on Ons Jabeur for a place in the last 16. The other seed is on show on Court 7 where Petra Martic will be the headliner dotted in among the doubles action.
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Men’s Betting
I’ll go with one in the men’s draw on Saturday which is in the all-Spanish clash first up on Lenglen where I expect Roberto Bautista Agut to get the better of Pablo Carreno Busta. These two have met twice on clay in the last few years and Bautista Agut has won them both and I think he’ll win this. Carreno Busta is better suited to hard courts unlike his Spanish compatriot who is more than at home on the clay. PCB has only ever been past this stage once in his career and that highlights how he isn’t suited to clay. Both men have come through the draw nicely it has to be said but with RBA having a decent tune up in Hamburg I feel his chances of winning here are better than the 4/5 odds suggest.
Women’s Betting
There is only one bet I like in the women’s draw as well. That comes in the match between Fiona Ferro and Patricia Tig where I think the home player can continue her progress in the tournament at the expense of her Romanian opponent. Ferro was a winner in Palermo straight after the lockdown but hasn’t played since then until this tournament due to injury. There have been no signs of that injury lingering this week though as she has seen off Heather Watson and Elena Rybakina very impressively so far. Her win over Rybakina was a real eye-catching one as the Kazakh was quietly fancied for this tournament. Tig has also come through the draw nicely so far but she hasn’t played anything like the quality that Ferro has come up against and I expect the world number 58 to be found wanting against her higher ranked opponent. I expect Ferro to win this and cover 3.5 games in the process.
Tips
Back R.Bautista Agut to beat P.Carreno Busta for a 3/10 stake at 1.80 with William Hill
Back him here:
WON – Back F.Ferro (-3.5 games) to beat P.Tig for a 3/10 stake at 1.80 with Boylesports
Back her here:
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