Olympics R3 previews and predictions: Medvedev vs. Auger-Aliassime, Ruud vs. Cerundolo

Quarterfinal spots will be handed out on the Olympics on Wednesday, when an enticing matchup pits Daniil Medvedev against Felix Auger-Aliassime. Casper Ruud and Francisco Cerundolo are also part of the schedule.

(13) Felix Auger-Aliassime vs. (4) Daniil Medvedev

Medvedev and Auger-Aliassime will be going head-to-head for the eighth time in their careers when they clash in round three at the Paris Olympics on Wednesday. One of the most lopsided “rivalries” on tour is being swept by Medvedev; that’s right, he has won all seven of their previous encounters. The Russian has dominated five of the seven in straight sets, most recently via a 6-3, 6-4, 6-3 decision at this year’s Australian Open.

This is their first-ever contest on anything other than a hard court, and clay should at least give Auger-Aliassime a chance. It is perhaps the Canadian’s favorite surface, whereas Medvedev is not shy about his disdain for it. Of course, the world No. 5 is far from hopeless on it. He is a former French Open quarterfinalist and he won the Rome Masters in 2023. Given these two players’ discrepancy in current form and Medvedev’s overall mastery of the head-to-head series, the surface should not make any difference.

Pick: Medvedev in 2

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(6) Casper Ruud vs. Francisco Cerundolo

It has been an outstanding two weeks Cerundolo, who captured the Umag title this past Saturday. Getting right back in gear at Roland Garros with basically zero rest, the 26th-ranked Argentine has advanced with victories over Marcelo Tomas Barrios Vera and Ugo Humbert.

Although Cerundolo is the underdog on Wednesday, he actually leads his head-to-head series against Ruud 3-2–including 2-1 on clay. Of course, Ruud is not only more rested than Cerundolo but also a whole different beast at Roland Garros. He is two-time French Open runner-up and has extended his stellar record at this venue with wins this week over Taro Daniel and Andrea Vavassori. The ninth-ranked Norwegian should be able to take advantage an opponent who has to run out of gas at some point.

Pick: Ruud in 2

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