French Open R4 previews and picks: Nadal vs. Lajovic, Ferrer vs. Anderson

Rafael Nadal and David Ferrer are on a collision course for the Roland Garros quarterfinals and they are approaching that destination. The two Spaniards first have to get past Dusan Lajovic and Kevin Anderson, respectively, on Monday.

(1) Rafael Nadal vs. Dusan Lajovic

Lajovic has been the beneficiary of some good fortune this season as he heads into his first Grand Slam fourth-round appearance, which he will make on Sunday at the French Open. The 23-year-old Serb reached the Miami second round as a lucky loser and his draw this fortnight has been incredible. Lajovic upset Federico Delbonis then rolled over Jurgen Zopp, who had received a retirement from Tommy Haas in the opening round. The world No. 83 parlayed that into a straight-set defeat of Jack Sock, who had advanced out of an injured Nicolas Almagro’s section.

To say this is where the draw gets tougher would be an understatement. However, there is some good news for Lajovic. First, he gained valuable big-match experience last season in Davis Cup as a replacement for Janko Tipsarevic and Viktor Troicki. Additionally, Nadal’s back acted up just a bit during a third-round victory of Leonardo Mayer. Still, the top-ranked Spaniard has had little trouble in his first three matches, which also included wins over Robby Ginepri and Dominic Thiem. This will, of course, depend on Nadal’s health. If he is close to 100 percent, it will be a rout. If not, the favorite should still pull through in straight sets.

Pick: Nadal in 3 losing 11-14 games

[polldaddy poll=8091211]

(19) Kevin Anderson vs. (5) David Ferrer

Ferrer and Anderson will be squaring off for the sixth time in their careers and for the second straight year in round four of the French Open when they collide again on Sunday. Their previous Roland Garros encounter did not go well for Anderson, to put it mildly. He lasted only one hour and 45 minutes in a 6-3, 6-1, 6-1 blowout loss. Anderson has managed to defeat Ferrer twice in four tries, but both wins came on hard courts and one was via retirement with the Spaniard a set up in their recent Acapulco clash.

Both men have been in absolute cruise control so far this fortnight. Anderson has not dropped a set nor even been extended to a tiebreaker, although he did get a stroke of good luck when Ivo Karlovic retired after just one set on Saturday. Ferrer is also perfect in the set department and only two of nine have been more competitive than 6-3. The world No. 5, last year’s French Open runner-up, is coming off a routine win over Andreas Seppi. Anderson could be somewhat competitive if he serves extremely well, but the 2013 result suggests another clay-court clinic is in the cards.

Pick: Ferrer in 3 with no tiebreakers

[polldaddy poll=8091214]