By Jake Davies
- Iga Swiatek [1] vs Coco Gauff [6]
- Ons Jabeur [7] vs Beatriz Haddad Maia [14]
- Alexander Zverev [22] vs Tomas Martin Etcheverry
- Casper Ruud [4] vs Holger Rune [6]
PARIS, FRANCE – Defending champion Iga Swiatek leads the quarter-final line-up.
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Iga Swiatek [1] vs Coco Gauff [6] H2H and Match Fundamentals
| Iga Swiatek [1] vs Coco Gauff [6] | H2H: Swiatek leads 6-0 |
| Roland Garros 2023 | Paris, France |
| Clay (O) | Prize Money: €400,000 |
| Second on Court Chatrier, after 11.00am (10.00am 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 cruised through to the quarter-final stage without too much difficulty. She breezed through the first three rounds without dropping a set, then benefited from a first set retirement from Ukraine’s Lesia Tsurenko to make it to the final eight.
Coco Gauff’s progress wasn’t as plain sailing and generally her level over the course of Roland Garros hasn’t really been that smooth. But she has done a good job of masking her weaknesses, stabilising the weaker forehand to a certain extent and showing that she does have a degree of comfort when playing on this red clay in Paris.
Swiatek is comfortably the heavy favourite when these two players collide in the quarter-finals. The Pole boasts an enviable 6-0 H2H record versus Gauff, while the American has only been able to win as high as nine games out of their previous meetings. A lot of that is down to the way Gauff’s forehand breaks down not only through penetration but also regularity of probing and giving to that groundstroke. But on top of that it is simply just what comes with playing someone like Swiatek, who is often at the peak of her powers, even more so when playing on this surface.
Prediction: Swiatek in straight sets.
Ons Jabeur [7] vs Beatriz Haddad Maia [14] H2H and Match Fundamentals
| Ons Jabeur [7] vs Beatriz Haddad Maia [14] | H2H: Jabeur leads 1-0 |
| Roland Garros 2023 | Paris, France |
| Clay (O) | Prize Money: €400,000 |
| First on Court Chatrier at 11.00am (10.00am 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 |
Ons Jabeur has looked relatively good in the first four rounds at this tournament, with her creative and instinctive skillset getting her comfortably on top of matches while profiting to some extent from a misfiring Bernarda Pera in the fourth round.
Standing in her way in the quarter-final is Brazil’s Beatriz Haddad Maia. The Brazilian has fought through three clay-court grinds in the last three rounds and she was fortunate enough to edge Sara Sorribes Tormo to book her place in the quarter-finals. Haddad Maia can thank her lefty serve and nicely-managed weighty forehand to get her to this point, but it will be interesting if she has enough left in the tank to go any further.
Jabeur should come into this encounter as the obvious favourite. The Tunisian won their only previous meeting at tour-level on the quicker clay of Stuttgart earlier this season and her varied game should be enough to come out on top again. In that Stuttgart win, Jabeur was luring the Brazilian into cat-and-mouse points, making things uncomfortable with awkward slices and perhaps a quality that is often underestimated is how much Jabeur can really get out of a powerful forehand, too. Also, Haddad Maia has been on court nearly double the amount of time and if Jabeur executes with her creative drop shot as well as she can, Haddad Maia may not have the physicality left for it.
Prediction: Jabeur in straight sets.
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Alexander Zverev [22] vs Tomas Martin Etcheverry H2H and Match Fundamentals
| Alexander Zverev [22] vs Tomas Martin Etcheverry | H2H: First meeting |
| Roland Garros 2023 | Paris, France |
| Clay (O) | Prize Money: €400,000 |
| Third on Court Chatrier, after 11.00am (10.00am 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 |
Alexander Zverev is not quite at his highest level at present, but there is enough evidence from his matches this tournament that he is not far off it, with some of his obvious qualities and strengths coming to the fore against a fading Grigor Dimitrov in the fourth round.
Up next for Zverev is Argentina’s Tomas Martin Etcheverry. Etcheverry is perhaps the least-known of the remaining quarter-finalists, but he has carried his form from the lower levels of the circuit to becoming a force to be reckoned with at tour-level. Etcheverry has done a good job at solidifying his weaker backhand, hanging in that corner with more conviction, but the most obvious area of his game that Zverev will need to be wary of his top-spin forehand that has certainly got bigger this season.
Zverev has the credit in the bank when it comes to knowing what it takes to get to a major semi-final and that is even more the case when it comes to the French Open over the years. But Etcheverry should not really be underestimated here. He goes into this match with very little to lose and is dangerous in that sense that Zverev will probably need the best part of a set to adjust to his speed of ball and figure out favourable patterns of play to get the better of the Argentinian. Zverev should have enough to progress, but an upset would not be as surprising as many think.
Prediction: Zverev in four sets.
Casper Ruud [4] vs Holger Rune [6] H2H and Match Fundamentals
| Casper Ruud [4] vs Holger Rune [6] | H2H: Ruud leads 4-1 |
| Roland Garros 2023 | Paris, France |
| Clay (O) | Prize Money: €400,000 |
| Fourth on Court Chatrier, not before 8.15pm (7.15pm 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 |
Casper Ruud overcame the dangerous and explosive Nicolas Jarry at the fourth round stage in a match-up he could quite easily have been on the losing end in. With that being said Ruud has shown some resilience of late, gradually sharpening up his game in matches, but the big question is whether his level is at a stable-enough place to compete with equally as comfortable clay-courters when the going gets tough. There is certainly areas of this upcoming match-up where he can really exploit.
Holger Rune’s rise at the tender age of 20 has come extremely fast and he already has a Masters title to his name to show for it. The Dane boasts some serious versatility, easier power on the forehand, an improved serve and commitment in consistently aiming to take time away.
That last strength is the area in which Ruud might struggle in phases of this match, especially from his backhand corner. Rune also has the luxury of one of the better timed drop shots on the circuit, which I think will bring him success in the first half of the match. The key for Ruud will be to extend it as much as he can, find the balance in rally and in the end utilise his greater fitness and physicality to his advantage in the fourth and fifth set.
Prediction: Ruud in five sets.
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