French Open R4 previews and predictions: Djokovic vs. Bautista Agut, Berdych vs. Ferrer

Novak Djokovic has enjoyed smooth sailing through three matches at Roland Garros and he hopes more of the same will continue against Roberto Bautista Agut on Monday. Tomas Berdych and David Ferrer are also taking the court for fourth-round action.

(1) Novak Djokovic vs. (14) Roberto Bautista Agut

Djokovic’s quest for a first French Open title is off to an ideal start–especially relative to the unfortunate plights of other contenders. Roger Federer, for example withdrew before the tournament even started. So did Gael Monfils. Rafael Nadal pulled out after two matches. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga retired from his third-round contest on Saturday. Stan Wawrinka has played a five-setter. So has Kei Nishikori. Andy Murray has played two. Djokovic, however, is safely through to the last 16 following straight-set victories over Yen-Hsun Lu, Steve Darcis, and Aljaz Bedene. The world No. 1’s clay-court preparation was far from ideal, but he at least managed to lift the Madrid winner’s trophy to go along with a runner-up performance in Rome.

Up next for Djokovic on Monday is a fifth career showdown against Bautista Agut, who is 0-4 in the head-to-head series and 0-9 in total sets. They also faced each other in round four of the 2015 U.S. Open, where the Serb battled to a hard-fought 6-3, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 win. Their only previous clay-court encounter came earlier this month in Madrid, with Djokovic dominating 6-2, 6-1. Bautista Agut is the kind of rock-solid player who generally takes care of opponents whom he should beat while often struggling at the hands of higher-ranked foes. The Spaniard, who has advanced this fortnight by taking out Dmitry Tursunov, Paul-Henri Mathieu, and Borna Coric, has lost more than 20 consecutive matches against top 10 players other than Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. Another lopsided setback could be in store for him in this one.

Pick: Djokovic in 3 losing 11-14 games

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(11) David Ferrer vs. (7) Tomas Berdych

These two struggling veterans may have been counted out prior to their arrivals in Paris, but one will be in the quarterfinals after they square off for the 15th time in their careers on Monday. Ferrer is leading the head-to-head series 8-6, but Berdych has won three of their five clay-court contests. They just recently collided at the Madrid Masters, where Berdych got the job done 7-6(8), 7-5. But the Madrid conditions are conducive to Berdych’s game, as the balls fly through the air and generally bounce faster off the court than they do in most clay-court situations.

The eighth-ranked Czech found the conditions much less satisfying in Rome, where he got double-bageled by David Goffin in the third round. That, along with mostly lackluster results throughout the 2016 campaign, prompted Berdych to part ways with coach Dani Vallverdu. But the ship is being righted in Paris with defeats of Vasek Pospisil, Malek Jaziri, and Pablo Cuevas. Similarly, Ferrer has won three matches at a tournament for just the second time this season and for the first time since the Australian Open. The 34-year-old Spaniard, who has slipped to No. 11 in the world, punched his ticket to the last 16 by beating Evgeny Donskoy, Juan Monaco, and Feliciano Lopez, surrendering just one set to Monaco in the process. Even though Ferrer is no longer at his peak, you generally know what he is going to bring to the table every time he takes the court. Berdych, on the other hand, is the proverbial wild card who really has the outcome of this match in his hands. Sometimes that can be a good thing; right now, the opposite may be true. Look for Ferrer’s relentless return of serve and consistent groundstrokes to coax an inconsistent Berdych into too many errors during baseline rallies.

Pick: Ferrer in 4

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