How to watch: 5 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the Tennis Channel; streaming on the Tennis Channel app.
Novak Djokovic, the No. 1 men’s singles player, is cast as an unlikely underdog at the French Open. With both Rafael Nadal and Dominic Thiem, the 2020 United States Open winner, having featured in the last two French Open finals, the weight of expectations is not entirely on his shoulders. But neither Nadal nor Thiem is in Djokovic’s half of the draw, and on Thursday, against 66th-ranked Ricardas Berankis, he will continue on his relatively easy path toward a potential appearance in the final. Around the grounds, there are plenty of tougher matchups to watch out for.
Here are some matches to keep an eye on.
Because of the number of matches cycling through courts, the times for individual matchups are at best a guess and are certain to fluctuate based on the times at which earlier play is completed. All times are Eastern.
Court Philippe-Chatrier | NOON
Stefanos Tsitsipas vs. Pablo Cuevas
Tsitsipas, the fifth seed, has had a packed clay-court season. On Sunday, he lost in the final of the Hamburg European Open and then needed to report to the French Open early on Monday to be tested for the coronavirus before his first-round match on Tuesday. Against Jaume Munar, Tsitsipas struggled to get into a groove early, losing the first two sets before coming back and winning the next three.
Cuevas, a French Open doubles champion in 2008, has never been past the third round of the singles draw — even though, as a clay-court specialist, he has been ranked as high as 19th in the world. All six of his ATP titles have come on clay courts, but the latest was at the Brasil Open in 2017, and there’s uncertainty around whether he can continue grinding away through long matches on the punishingly slow courts of Roland Garros.
Tsitsipas, of Greece, and Cuevas, of Uruguay, have met on three occasions, and Tsitsipas has yet to lose a set. But in their matchup last week in Hamburg, Cuevas was clearly not far off the mark, losing, 7-5, 6-4. If Cuevas can use his clay expertise to move Tsitsipas around the court well, Tsitsipas’s packed schedule may come back to haunt him.
Court Philippe-Chatrier | 5 a.m.
Karolina Pliskova vs. Jelena Ostapenko
Pliskova, the second seed, retired from the final of the Italian Open after struggling with pain in a leg and her lower back. In her first-round match against Mayar Sherif, there were clearly some nerves at the outset as she failed to convert eight set points before losing the first set in a tiebreaker. However, she quickly reset between sets and overpowered her opponent quite easily. A former world No. 1, Pliskova has yet to win a Grand Slam tournament, and in Ostapenko, she will face a clay-court expert with enough experience not to be intimidated by Plilskova’s flat, powerful baseline shots.
Ostapenko, the 2017 French Open champion, has had mixed results leading up to this year’s tournament. She lost in the first round of the Italian Open but then looked dominant in her first-round victory at Roland Garros over Madison Brengle, dropping only three games. In 2018 and 2019, Ostapenko lost in the first round of the French Open. Having passed that stage this time, she will now have a very tough challenge.
Ostapenko plays a high-risk game that can create a lot of errors in exchange for short points punctuated with winners. That is likely to play to the benefit of Pliskova, for whom short baseline rallies are familiar and favored. Expect an electrifying match full of big hitting.
Court Philippe-Chatrier | 7 a.m.
Sofia Kenin vs. Ana Bogdan
Kenin, the 2020 Australian Open champion, struggled in her first-round match at Roland Garros against Ludmilla Samsonova. Especially during the second set, her groundstrokes seemed to fall shorter on the court than she had intended, and her usually impeccable drop shots seemed to hang in the air just a foot higher, giving her opponent the opportunity to chase them down. After a disappointing exit in the round of 16 at the U.S. Open, Kenin lost to Viktoria Azarenka, 6-0, 6-0, in the first round of the Italian Open, a shock to any player’s confidence. Kenin will be hoping to build confidence as the tournament continues and to make it to the quarterfinals of Roland Garros for the first time.
Bogdan, ranked 93rd, pulled out of the second round of the Prague Open in August because of an injury. In her first-round victory over Timea Babos at Roland Garros, she seemed untroubled, accelerating well through her shots and finishing many points with powerful topspin forehands. Kenin is a much more difficult opponent to bully off the court, but if Bogdan can exploit Kenin’s hesitations, there is a chance for an upset here.
Court Suzanne-Lenglen | 10 a.m.
Matteo Berrettini vs. Lloyd Harris
Berrettini, the seventh seed, sailed past Vasek Pospisil in the first round, losing only seven games in just under two hours. Having lost in the second round at last year’s French Open, Berrettini will be trying to secure some additional points for his ranking in a relatively easy section of the draw. Two of Berrettini’s three ATP titles have come on clay, with his compact topspin forehands allowing him to move players around the backcourt without expending much energy. In 2019, he shone most notably at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open, but his game is not limited to the faster surfaces, and he should be favored through to the quarterfinals of Roland Garros.
Harris, 23, has had a breakout year, reaching his first ATP final at the Adelaide International in Australia in January. His successes on the lower levels of the professional circuit have been only on hardcourts, and he withdrew from the semifinal of a challenger event preparing for the French Open. Harris’s refuge will need to be his consistent returning of serves. If he can neutralize Berrettini’s flat corner serves and body kicks, he may have a chance of disrupting the Italian’s rhythm to secure an upset.
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2020 French Open: What to Watch on Thursday - The New York Times
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