The French Open heats up on Saturday with the conclusion of third-round action. Rising Italian star Jannik Sinner takes on American Mackenzie McDonald and Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz battles the Belgian veteran David Goffin.
(11) Jannik Sinner vs. Mackenzie McDonald
The French Open is Jannik Sinner’s most successful slam so far. The Italian has not lost before the fourth round at Roland Garros in two previous attempts. Sinner has had a fairly straightforward tournament so far. The world No. 12 dropped a set to Roberto Carballes Baena in the second round, but otherwise it has been smooth sailing.
American Mackenzie McDonald is no clay-court expert. This third-round showing is his best so far in Paris, as he previously never made it past the second round. McDonald had two wins on the dirt coming into this event, but he beat No. 22 seed Nikoloz Basilashvili in the second round. McDonald lost his only other match against Sinner last year on the hard courts of Washington.
Expect Sinner to move through this one relatively comfortably. While the Italian hasn’t quite reached the level of fellow NextGen star Carlos Alcaraz, he is still a force to be reckoned with on tour–and he’s just much more comfortable on clay than McDonald.
Cheryl pick: Sinner in 3
Ricky pick: Sinner in 3
(12) Hubert Hurkacz vs. David Goffin
This one might be closer than the rankings suggest. Hubert Hurkacz is the No. 13 player in the world, while David Goffin sits at No. 48…and yet, Goffin is the slight favorite for Saturday’s third-round contest.
First, there is the undeniable fact that Hurkacz has had miserable results at the slams–so miserable, in fact, that until just this week he had never advanced past the second round of a major except at Wimbledon (semis last year). His last three French Opens ended in first-round ousters.
Goffin, by contrast, has really come on during the clay swing. The Belgian won the event in Marrakech and pocketed a couple match wins in both Monte-Carlo and Madrid. Goffin already knocked out No. 24 seed Frances Tiafoe and he won his only other encounter with Hurkacz just a few weeks ago in Rome.
This one isn’t likely to be a straight-set shellacking, as the Rome match featured a pair of tightly-contested tiebreakers.
Cheryl pick: Goffin in 4
Ricky pick: Goffin in 5
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Sinner in three , and Hurkacz in five – though in best of three Id pick Goffin.