By Tony Fairbairn
- Iga Swiatek [1] v Qinwen Zheng [6]
- Novak Djokovic [1] v Stefanos Tsitsipas [8]
- Donna Vekic [13] v Anna Karolina Schmiedlova
- Carlos Alcaraz [2] v Tommy Paul [9]
PARIS, FRANCE – Iga Swiatek battles Qinwen Zheng for a place in the gold medal match while Novak Djokovic takes on Stefanos Tsitsipas in the quarter-finals of the Olympic Games.
 |
|---|
Iga Swiatek [1] v Qinwen Zheng [6] H2H & Match Fundamentals
| Iga Swiatek [1] v Qinwen Zheng [6] | H2H: Swiatek leads 6-0 |
| Olympic Games 2024 | Paris, France |
| Clay (O) | Prize Money: N/A |
| First on Philippe Chatrier (11:00 BST) | Discovery+ Add-on via Amazon Prime
Sign up for 30 day free trial of Prime Video and a 7-day free trial of Discovery+ Player |
Iga Swiatek is guaranteed to be competing in a medal match after the world number one battled past Danielle Collins. It wasn’t all smooth sailing for Swiatek who did lose a set to the American but ultimately proved that she is tough to beat at Roland Garros once again. The Pole isn’t aiming on stopping here as the next goal is to qualify for the gold medal match as she enters the final two rounds as favourite to add an Olympic title to her resume.
Next up for Swiatek is Australian Open finalist and sixth seed Qinwen Zheng after the Chinese player guaranteed a medal match with victory over Angelique Kerber. Zheng battled back from 4-1 down as she ended Kerber’s incredible career by winning a last set tiebreak. Although it’s been a fairly disappointing season since her final in Melbourne, Zheng will be hoping to leave Paris with a medal and rebuild her confidence for the rest of the season.
Swiatek will look to be accurate on serve and use the forehand to put Zheng on the backfoot and will step inside the baseline in order to dictate play. Meanwhile Zheng will implement a variety of different paces and depths in order to create the shorter ball from the world number one. When the pair met at Roland Garros a couple of years ago it was a competitive affair but when all is said and done Swiatek won that meeting with the same result expected in this match two years later.
Prediction: Swiatek in three sets.
Novak Djokovic [1] v Stefanos Tsitsipas [8] H2H & Match Fundamentals
| Novak Djokovic [1] v Stefanos Tsitsipas [8] | H2H: Djokovic leads 11-2 |
| Olympic Games 2024 | Paris, France |
| Clay (O) | Prize Money: N/A |
| Third on Philippe Chatrier (Not before 18:00 BST) | Discovery+ Add-on via Amazon Prime
Sign up for 30 day free trial of Prime Video and a 7-day free trial of Discovery+ Player |
Novak Djokovic’s search for the one title that alludes him continues into the quarter-finals after back-to-back wins over Rafael Nadal and Dominik Koepfer. The Serb has played some impressive tennis so far without being tested as Djokovic searches for a first gold medal. However, Djokovic knows that anything can happen at the Olympics with national pride on the line and will not be taking any opponent for granted with Paris being the last opportunity at Olympic glory.
That can be said about Djokovic’s next match against Stefanos Tsitsipas as the eighth seed has been flawless in Paris so far. The eighth seed has cruised into the quarter-finals and representing Greece is when Tsitsipas plays his best tennis as all the responsibility is placed on his shoulders. As another lively is expected on Philippe Chatrier, Tsitsipas is expected to elevate his level once again as he will look to replicate his performance from the Roland Garros final a few years ago and push Djokovic all the way.
Djokovic will look to serve with intensity and purpose as the Serb will rush Tsitsipas’ backhand and aim to use his forehand to be aggressive. Meanwhile Tsitsipas will need to be smart with the return as he aims to be aggressive but also construct the points well by using angles in order to create space effectively. This should be a tough match for Djokovic with Tsitsipas expected to test the Serb’s nerve under pressure. However in the big moments Djokovic should have enough quality to prevail.
Prediction: Djokovic in three sets.
 |
|---|
Donna Vekic [13] v Anna Karolina Schmiedlova H2H & Match Fundamentals
| Donna Vekic [13] v Anna Karolina Schmiedlova | H2H: Vekic leads 1-0 |
| Olympic Games 2024 | Paris, France |
| Clay (O) | Prize Money: N/A |
| Fourth on Philippe Chatrier (19:30 BST) | Discovery+ Add-on via Amazon Prime
Sign up for 30 day free trial of Prime Video and a 7-day free trial of Discovery+ Player |
It’s been quite the last month for Donna Vekic with the Croatian backing up her Wimbledon semi-final by reaching the last four at the Olympic Games. After stunning world number two and US Open champion Coco Gauff, Vekic continued her form going with a three set win over Marta Kostyuk. Now Vekic is hoping to break her semi-final curse at big events and will look to guarantee herself an Olympic medal with another victory in Paris.
Standing in Vekic’s way is Slovakian Anna Karolina Schmiedlova who is the lowest ranked player to reach the semi-finals at the Olympics since tennis was reintroduced in 1988. Schmiedlova has been on an incredible run and guaranteed herself a medal match with victory over Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova. However the Slovakian doesn’t plan on stopping there as she looks to be 2024’s answer to Monica Puig and cause another upset in order to reach the gold medal match.
Vekic will aim to be authoritative on serve as he looks to be aggressive on serve and pin Schmiedlova behind the baseline. Meanwhile Schmiedlova will look to be creative with her variety in order to force errors from the Croatian as she will aim to finish off points with her powerful forehand. Although Vekic will start as favourite, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Schmiedlova win given her form and the unpredictability of the Olympics.
Prediction: Schmiedlova in three sets.
Carlos Alcaraz [2] v Tommy Paul [9] H2H & Match Fundamentals
| Carlos Alcaraz [2] v Tommy Paul [9] | H2H: Alcaraz leads 3-2 |
| Olympic Games 2024 | Paris, France |
| Clay (O) | Prize Money: N/A |
| Second on Philippe Chatrier (Not before 13:00 BST) | Discovery+ Add-on via Amazon Prime
Sign up for 30 day free trial of Prime Video and a 7-day free trial of Discovery+ Player |
It’s been another incredible season for Carlos Alcaraz as the Spaniard has continued his dominance with Grand Slam titles at Roland Garros and Wimbledon. The second seed has continued to rise to the occasion despite the high expectations as he is firm favourite to win gold in Paris. However as the medal rounds get nearer, the pressure intensifies and Alcaraz will hope that he doesn’t falter in what is unfamiliar territory with this being his first Olympics.
Next for Alcaraz is American Tommy Paul as the ninth seed has continued his great summer of tennis. Paul won the Queen’s Club title in the build-up to Wimbledon and has only gone from strength to strength since then with a respectable quarter-final defeat to Alcaraz at SW19 concluding his grass court season. Now into another quarter-final at the Olympics, Paul will aim to gain revenge on the Spaniard and ensure that America has a representative in the medal rounds.
Alcaraz will aim to dominate on the first serve and will use the forehand to dictate play and be aggressive, neutralizing Paul’s baseline power. Meanwhile the American will use his variety and footwork to cause Alcaraz problems in the long exchanges as he will need to serve well in order to have a chance in this match. This should be Alcaraz’s toughest test of the tournament but the Spaniard should have enough quality to prevail and reach the medal matches.
Prediction: Alcaraz in three sets.
How to Watch/Follow Paris 2024
| TV | Across BBC Channels & Red Button |
| Live Stream | Discovery+ Add-on via Amazon Prime
Sign up for 30 day free trial of Prime Video and a 7-day free trial of Discovery+ Player |
| Live Scores | Tennis Scores Powered By TNNSLIVE |
 Sign up to PBLC for free to support ongoing contributions from Britwatch Sports |
|---|
| Follow Britwatch - Sport in General, Brits in Particular! | |
|---|---|
| Soundcloud | |
| YouTube | |
| We may receive compensation for products purchased via affiliate links on this website | |