French Open R4 previews and predictions: Hurkacz vs. Dimitrov, Sinner vs. Moutet

Hubert Hurkacz and Grigor Dimitrov will be back on the court with no days off when they battle for a spot in the Roland Garros quarterfinals on Sunday. The schedule also includes a showdown between Jannik Sinner and Corentin Moutet.

(8) Hubert Hurkacz vs. (10) Grigor Dimitrov

Hurkacz and Dimitrov will be squaring off for the sixth time in their careers when they meet again in round four of the French Open on Sunday evening. Surprisingly, Dimitrov is sweeping the head-to-head series 5-0. Their only previous clay-court contest came two years ago in Monte-Carlo, where the Bulgarian prevailed in a third-set tiebreaker. They most recently faced each a couple of months ago at the Miami Masters and the exact same result occurred. In fact, three of Dimitrov’s five victories have come in final-set tiebreakers. Amazingly enough, the 33-year-old has won all five of their tiebreakers–and Hurkacz is generally great in ‘breakers.

Dimitrov worked overtime in what was supposed to be a match on Friday and then a continuation on Saturday afternoon, as he finished off Zizou Bergs in four sets under the Philippe-Chatrier roof on Saturday night. Fortunately for the world No. 10, his first two wins were in three very quick sets (over Aleksandar Kovacevic and Fabian Marozsan). Hurkacz got off the court much earlier on Saturday, but his first week was tough–with four-setters against Brandon Nakashima and Denis Shapovalov preceded by a five-setter against Shintaro Mochizuki. Although the eighth-ranked Pole has played well this spring, he has been far from dominant through three rounds in Paris. In relatively slow conditions, Dimitrov should be able to handle Hurkacz’s serve and earn yet another victory in this matchup.

Pick: Dimitrov in 5

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Corentin Moutet vs. (10) Jannik Sinner

Sinner went into Roland Garros with a hip injury, but–although he has not looked entirely 100 percent–the first three rounds were just what the doctor ordered. The second-ranked Italian did not drop a set throughout the opening week, beating Chris Eubanks, Richard Gasquet, and Pavel Kotov. In fact, not a single set was more competitive than 6-4. Perhaps even more important is that Sinner has stayed on schedule by playing under closed roofs, so he will have enjoyed more than a full day of rest by the time this match starts.

Up next for the 22-year-old is a first-ever meeting with Moutet, one of two unseeded players remaining in the bottom half of the draw. The crafty French left-hander has advanced with wins over Nicolas Jarry, Alexander Shevchenko, and Sebastian Ofner–all in four sets. Moutet completely befuddled Ofner with an array of drop-shots and underarm serves, thoroughly delighting the Suzanne-Lenglen crowd. Unfortunately for the world No. 79, those tactics will not work against an opponent like Sinner. In fact, Moutet probably won’t even be able to use the drop-shot–at least not high-percentage droppers–since he will rarely be in positions of offense against Sinner. Unless the second seed is struggling physically, count on this being one-way traffic.

Pick: Sinner in 3

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