The third round of the singles draws in the French Open will come to a close on Saturday when the other halves of the draw to the ones on show on Friday take centre stage on the main courts at Roland Garros in Paris.
We are still waiting for the first truly big name shock in this half of the draw and as such it means that we have some top quality stars on show, a number of whom have seeded opponents for the first time in the tournament.
Philippe Chatrier Court
You would expect the action on the main court to be full of quality at this stage of the tournament and that is certainly how it looks on Saturday where we get underway with the number three seed Jessica Pegula looking to make the second week when she takes on the former Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova. When they are done the man beaten in the final a year ago, Alexander Zverev, goes up against Flavio Cobolli. The day session concludes on the main court with Coco Gauff looking to make it into the second week when Marie Bouzkova is the other side of the net. The night session sees Novak Djokovic continuing his quest for Slam number 25 when he takes on the lowly ranked Filip Misolic.
Suzanne Lenglen Court
It is the women who will get the action on the second court underway when the teenage sensation Mirra Andreeva meets Yulia Putintseva in what should be a hard hitting match. When they are done the world number one Jannik Sinner will make a rare appearance on the Lenglen court when he meets Jiri Lehecka. The third match of the day has been switched in after Arthur Fils pulled out of the tournament so we now have Jack Draper facing the young star Joao Fonseca. Two hard hitting American players meet to round off the day on this court when the Australian Open champion Madison Keys goes up against Sofia Kenin.
Simonne Mathieu Court
It is the women who start up play over on the Simonne Mathieu part of the grounds too with the seeded pair of Paula Badosa and Daria Kasatkina going at it. When they are done two unseeded female players will meet when France finds out which of their own players reaches the fourth round when Elsa Jacquemot meets Lois Boisson in what is a huge clash for both women. Two more unseeded players follow them when Alexander Bublik looks to build on his epic comeback win over Alex de Minaur in the previous round when he faces the Portuguese player Henrique Rocha. The action on this court concludes with two British men facing off when Cameron Norrie takes on Jacob Fearnley.
Special Offer
Open a new Sporting Index account and bet £10 on the tournament (min odds 1/2) to get £20 in free bets (2x£10 free bets) to use on any sports market! Click the image below to take advantage of this great offer! 18+ T&Cs apply. Gamble Responsibly.
Court 14
With the walkover for Andrey Rublev over Arthur Fils we are left with three singles matches on Saturday and they all take place over on Court 14. Tallon Griekspoor has an excellent chance to make the second week of the tournament when he goes up against Ethan Quinn, who coming into the event ranked outside the top 100 could make a huge move in his career here. Two possible dark horses for the women’s title follow them onto the court when Ekaterina Alexandrova faces Veronika Kudermetova. The last singles match sees Hailey Baptiste meeting Jessica Bouzas Maneiro in another match in which there is a huge opportunity for both women.
Betting
There is a bet in each draw that I like the look of on Saturday and beginning with the men it is the all-British clash that I like a punt in where Cameron Norrie takes on Jacob Fearnley in what will be billed as the master against the apprentice. It will be interesting to see who comes out on top here but I fancy a tight match. I think that for a couple of reasons. The first one is because there is a huge chance for both men to reach the second week of the tournament at a time where both will be eager to and countrymen never want to lose to each other. We know that when he gets his teeth into something that Norrie never goes down without a fight but Fearnley is playing confident tennis and has this insane 13-1 record against lefties. Fearnley was looking good against Ugo Humbert in the last round before the Frenchman quit but Norrie has had the better part of the week to get that five-setter in the first round out of his system. This could be a match with drawn out rallies and if pushed I fancy the experience and nous of Norrie will win the day but I think over 38.5 games is the better bet here.
The other bet that I like over the course of the day comes in the women’s draw where Marketa Vondrousova looks overpriced to see off a Jessica Pegula who really still doesn’t convince me in the majors. The American has only ever once been past the third round in Paris so her being odds on here against a Grand Slam winner doesn’t sit right with me. We know all about the fitness and injury issues that the Czech has had but that looks a thing of the past this week. She has played well in both of her matches and has the hitting power and the ability to create angles that can trouble Pegula. Ann Li pushed Pegula hard in the last round and I think at her best Vondrousova would have Li covered. Her win over Magdalena Frech was very encouraging and while status of the two dictates that Pegula is the favourite, I’m not sure Vondrousova should be 13/8 here.
Tips
Back C.Norrie vs J.Fearnley – Over 38.5 games for a 3/10 stake at 1.85 with William Hill
Back it here:
Back M.Vondrousova to beat J.Pegula for a 3/10 stake at 2.63 with Boylesports
Back her here:
