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French Open: Predicting the results of every ATP quarterfinalist

By Brandon Daniels

PARIS, FRANCE - OCTOBER 05: Novak Djokovic of Serbia celebrates his victory over Karen Kachanov of Russia in the fourth round of the men's singles at Roland Garros on October 05, 2020 in Paris, France. (Photo by TPN/Getty Images)
PARIS, FRANCE - OCTOBER 05: Novak Djokovic of Serbia celebrates his victory over Karen Kachanov of Russia in the fourth round of the men's singles at Roland Garros on October 05, 2020 in Paris, France. (Photo by TPN/Getty Images) /
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Russia’s Andrey Rublev celebrates after winning against Sam Querrey of the US at the end of their men’s singles first round tennis match at the Simonne Mathieu court on Day 3 of The Roland Garros 2020 French Open tennis tournament in Paris on September 29, 2020. (Photo by Anne-Christine POUJOULAT / AFP) (Photo by ANNE-CHRISTINE POUJOULAT/AFP via Getty Images)
Russia’s Andrey Rublev celebrates after winning against Sam Querrey of the US at the end of their men’s singles first round tennis match at the Simonne Mathieu court on Day 3 of The Roland Garros 2020 French Open tennis tournament in Paris on September 29, 2020. (Photo by Anne-Christine POUJOULAT / AFP) (Photo by ANNE-CHRISTINE POUJOULAT/AFP via Getty Images) /

5. Andrey Rublev

2020 French Open finish: QUARTERFINALIST

On the other side of the coin, Andrey Rublev hasn’t been anywhere near perfect this week and only took down one of his opponents (Kevin Anderson) in straight sets. He also needed to come back from two sets down in Round 1 against Sam Querrey but added gritty four-set wins over Alejandro Davidovich Fokina and Marton Fuscovics in Rounds 2 and 4.

Grittiness only takes you so far, and while the competition has certainly been stiffer for him in comparison to Tsitsipas, it won’t be enough to carry him over the hump to his first Grand Slam semifinal after two previous failed attempts (both in New York).

6. Diego Schwartzman

2020 French Open finish: QUARTERFINALIST

The 12th-seeded Schwartzman is a bonafide clay specialist and a grinder. He’s shown significant poise throughout the shortened clay swing by taking out Nadal and Denis SHapovalov in Rome before losing in the finals to Djokovic. So far in Paris this week, Schwartzman has yet to drop a set in four matches but is drawn up against too tough of a task in his fourth career quarterfinal. While Thiem has admitted he isn’t running on a full tank after his five-set win over Gaston, he’s still the second-best player in the world and has simply too much power for Schwartzman to handle in a five-setter.

7. Jannik Sinner

2020 French Open finish: QUARTERFINALIST

Jannik Sinner is the future of the ATP. He’s already proven, at only 19 years old, that he’s ready to compete with some of the world’s best. He began his week with a straight-sets win over David Goffin and topped off his incredible run with a four-set victory over Alexander Zverev. Outside of Djokovic, Nadal, and Thiem, it looks like SInner could beat anyone still standing in the draw, but unfortunately for him, he’s matched against the King of Clay himself in the quarterfinals. More opportunities will come for Sinner at this position but this year isn’t going to be the one.

8. Pablo Carreno Busta

2020 French Open finish: QUARTERFINALIST

Carreno Busta has been one of the most underrated players in the post-restart tennis world. After sneaking past Djokovic during the US Open’s fourth round, he took down Shapovalov in the fifth set and was a set away from getting to the tournament final before Zverev came back from two sets down.

He’s also looked extremely solid so far in Paris. He’s dropped just one set so far (during his 4-set, Round 3 win over Roberto Bautista Agut) and is set for a rematch with Djokovic in the quarterfinals. All things considered, he isn’t going to repeat his US Open success given that Djokovic is now fully healthy and on a tear since then.

Next. The case for each ATP frontrunner as this year's French Open champion. dark

The French Open’s quarterfinal action begins tomorrow with Dominic Thiem and Rafael Nadal both taking the court. On the women’s side, Elina Svitolina looks to reach her first Grand Slam semifinal since last year’s US Open. Teen sensation Iga Swiatek also takes te court tomorrow, coming off the heels of a stunning 6-1, 6-2 defeat of Simona Halep in the 4th Round.

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