Six of the top eight seeds have advanced to the French Open quarterfinals, including Novak Djokovic, Alexander Zverev, and Dominic Thiem. Karen Khachanov, who upset Juan Martin Del Potro in round four, will meet Thiem on Wednesday.
(1) Novak Djokovic vs. (5) Alexander Zverev
It will be a rematch of the 2018 Nitto ATP Finals championship match when Djokovic and Zverev meet again in the French Open quarterfinals on Wednesday. Zverev pulled off a massive upset at the O2 Arena for the biggest title of his career, leveling the head-to-head series at 2-2. It was 1-1 heading into London and 2-2 going out, as Djokovic had prevailed 6-4, 6-1 during round-robin action prior to his 6-4, 6-3 loss in the final. They have faced each other once on clay, with Zverev emerging victorious by the same 6-4, 6-3 scoreline at the 2017 Rome Masters.
The fifth-ranked German has already matched his best-ever slam result (he also reached the last eight at Roland Garros in 2018) with defeats of John Millman, Mikael Ymer, Dusan Lajovic, and Fabio Fognini. Zverev needed five sets against both Millman and Lajovic while beating Ymer in straights and Fognini in four. Djokovic has not come close to dropping a set, making mincemeat out of Hubert Hurkacz, Henri Laaksonen, Salvatore Caruso, and Jan-Lennard Struff. Even a considerable step up in competition level is not something that is likely to trouble the world No. 1 and 2016 French Open champion.
Pick: Djokovic in 3
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(10) Karen Khachanov vs. (4) Dominic Thiem
Thiem and Khachanov will be going head-to-head for the second time in their careers on Wednesday. Their only previous encounter came last fall, also in Paris–albeit in a much, much different setting. On the indoor hard courts of the Paris Masters, Khachanov prevailed 6-4, 6-1 in the semifinals en route to the biggest title of his career. Now, of course, Thiem owns a huge surface advantage on clay. The fourth-ranked Austrian is the reigning Barcelona champion and he is bidding for his fourth consecutive trip to the French Open semifinals, including a runner-up performance in 2018. So far this fortnight Thiem has ousted Tommy Paul, Alexander Bublik, Pablo Cuevas, and Gael Monfils, raising his level significantly to destroy Monfils 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 on Monday.
Nothing suggested Khachanov would advance this far aside from the fact that he is quite clearly a force anywhere in Paris. The 11th-ranked Russian is 10-2 lifetime at the French Open, with two straight fourth-round finishes preceding what is now his first-ever trip to a Grand Slam quarterfinal. He accomplished the feat with victories over Cedrik-Marcel Stebe, Gregoire Barrerre, Martin Klizan, and Juan Martin Del Potro. Khachanov may be back to his 2018 form, but a big edge in experience deep in slams–especially at the French–goes to Thiem.
Pick: Thiem in 4
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