Novak Djokovic has displayed some encouraging signs through two rounds of the French Open and he will be back on the court for a Friday showdown against Roberto Bautista Agut. Lucas Pouille and Karen Khachanov are also in action.
Karen Khachanov vs. (2) Alexander Zverev
Zverev has been playing with fire at the French Open as he tries to erase the demons of past Grand Slam failures. The No. 2 seed was one set away from bowing out in the second round and he was one point away losing in the third round, but he ended up beating Dusan Lajovic 2-6, 7-5, 4-6, 6-1, 6-2 before surviving Damir Dzumhur 6-2, 3-6, 4-6, 7-6(3), 7-5. Zverev, who is 20-3 on clay this season and 20-1 against opponents other than Rafael Nadal, preceded those victories with a 6-1, 6-1, 6-2 beatdown of Ricardas Berankis.
Up next for the 21-year-old German on Sunday is a second career meeting with Khachanov, who lost their only previous encounter 7-6(3), 6-4 on the indoor hard courts of St. Petersburg in 2016. The 22-year-old Russian has also made plenty of strides since then, owning two ATP titles (including earlier this season in Marseille) and a ranking of No. 38 in the world that left him just one spot out of seed at Roland Garros. Khachanov booked his spot in the fourth round for a second consecutive year by defeating Andreas Haider-Maurer, Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, and Lucas Pouille, surrendering just one set to Garcia-Lopez (in a tiebreaker) along the way. However, the underdog has never beaten anyone in the top eight in his entire career and Zverev should start playing looser now that he has persevered through two early-round scares.
Pick: Zverev in 4
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(8) David Goffin vs. Marco Cecchinato
As expected, the Goffin vs. Gael Monfils third-round showdown did not disappoint. Goffin fought off four match points in the fourth set before eventually prevailing 6-7(6), 6-3, 4-6, 7-5, 6-3 in a three-hour and 58-minute battle that spanned both Friday and Saturday. That was the world No. 9’s second five-setter of this tournament, as he recovered from two sets down to beat Robin Haase in his opener prior to much more straightforward 7-5, 6-0, 6-1 rout of French wild card Corentin Moutet.
Goffin’s reward for his survival thus far is an especially good one, and not just because he is into the second week at Roland Garros for the third time in his career. Standing in his way of a second quarterfinal berth is the unheralded Cecchinato, who had never previously won a single match at a major. It is all coming together for the 72nd-ranked Italian this fortnight, thanks to a favorable draw that includes victories over Marius Copil (10-8 in the fifth set), lucky loser Marco Trungelliti, and Pablo Carreno Busta. Cecchinato may be encouraged by a recent 5-7, 6-2, 6-2 loss to Goffin in their first-ever meeting a few weeks ago in Rome, but it is the Belgian who basically has home-court advantage this time around. Far more experience at this stage of big tournaments should also help Goffin soar into the quarterfinals with relative ease.
Pick: Goffin in 3
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