3 must-watch matches for Sunday at the French Open

The second week of the French Open will begin on Sunday, as the first half of fourth round matches are set to take place. There will be four women’s and four men’s matches played on day eight of Roland Garros.

There are some big names in action on Sunday, as Serena Williams, Victoria Azarenka, Daniil Medvedev, Stefanos Tsitsipas, and Alexander Zverev will all compete for a spot in the quarterfinals.

There will be eight exciting matches on day eight of the French Open, yet there are a few that get me a little more excited than the rest. Here are three must-watch matches for Sunday at Roland Garros.

Alexander Zverev vs Kei Nishikori

This will be the sixth career meeting between the two on the ATP tour, and the third time they play each other this year. Zverev currently leads the head-to-head 4-1, with Zverev currently on a three-match winning streak over Nishikori.

I really expect a close match between these two, as they know each other’s games so well after playing against each other in back-to-back tournaments at the beginning of May. In the first meeting in May, Zverev won in straight sets, but in the last meeting, it was a close three set match that finished in just under three hours.

Both players have had to play a fifth set in the first round of the tournament, but while Zverev won his next two matches in straight sets, Nishikori had a huge five set victory over Karen Khachanov in the second round. You would think that fatigue would play a factor for Nishikori in this match, but I do not believe it will since Nishikori advanced to the fourth round after Henri Laaksonen retired after the first set.

Both Nishikori and Zverev will be coming into this match playing 11 sets each, so fatigue should not play a factor for either of them on Sunday. I believe this goes at least four sets, and most likely five, and that Zverev will do just enough to get through to the quarterfinals.

Serena Williams vs Elena Rybakina

18 years separate these two, as Serena Williams is 39 years old, while Rybakina is just 21. Both players are ranked inside the top 25 in the world, as this will be the first career meeting between the two.

Serena Williams is the highest seed left in her half of the draw, as Sabalenka’s surprising loss on Friday has opened up the draw significantly for Serena. She is also the second highest seed left in the entire tournament, which comes after Elina Svitolina lost her third-round match earlier on Saturday. Sofia Kenin is currently the highest seed left as she sits in the top half of the draw. This may be Serena’s last good chance to win Major number 24 before her career is over.

Rybakina has been cruising throughout this entire tournament so far, winning all three of her matches in straight sets, and without dropping more than five games in each match. She has also won one of the two sets 6-1 in all of her matches so far at the French.

I expect this match to be incredibly close, as Rybakina can beat Serena easily if Serena does not come out strong. I think both players will be ready to play from the start, but give Serena the slight advantage. I believe Serena will take this match in a tight three sets.

Daniil Medvedev vs Cristian Garin

This match has five sets written all over it, as this will be by far Medvedev’s toughest test of the tournament. Garin is a great clay court player, and just beat Medvedev earlier last month in Madrid, defeating him in the round of 16 in three sets.

This will be the third career meeting between the two, as Medvedev did beat Garin back in 2019 on hard courts. Garin has had the tougher matches so far, winning in four or five sets in all three of his matches. He survived against Mackenzie McDonald in the second round after saving a couple match points in the third set, and then defeated Marcos Giron in the third round in four sets.

For Medvedev, he won his first match in straight sets against Alexander Bublik before defeating Tommy Paul in the second round in four sets. Medvedev is coming off of a convincing win against the 32-seed Reilly Opelka, in which Medvedev won in straight sets in just an hour and 38 minutes.

Medvedev has looked like the better player so far at Roland Garros, but he has not been tested by a true clay court player yet like Garin is. I believe Garin has the skill and confidence to push Medvedev in the match and make it very tight. However, I think in the end Medvedev will be able to pull through and win this match over a tired Garin in five sets on Sunday.