By Jake Davies
- Carlos Alcaraz [1] vs Stefanos Tsitsipas [5]
- Novak Djokovic [3] vs Karen Khachanov [11]
- Aryna Sabalenka [2] vs Elina Svitolina
- Karolina Muchova vs Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova
PARIS, FRANCE – Four big seeds are in action as the quarter-final stage begins at the 2023 French Open.
 |
|---|
Carlos Alcaraz [1] vs Stefanos Tsitsipas [5] H2H and Match Fundamentals
| Carlos Alcaraz [1] vs Stefanos Tsitsipas [5] | H2H: Alcaraz leads 4-0 |
| 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 |
Carlos Alcaraz’s quality of opponents have been quite tricky but he has taken it all in his stride, especially in the last couple of rounds where he beat Denis Shapovalov with ease, then pummelled Lorenzo Musetti with the loss of just seven games. The Spaniard is looking set to make his way into a first French Open final and isn’t too far away from adding to the US Open triumph from last year.
Stefanos Tsitsipas‘ best on a clay court and on most surfaces for that matter is very hard to deal with and contain, but we just haven’t seen enough of that this season. In many ways the Greek has stalled and the direction of his game has gone backwards, losing matches versus opponents he shouldn’t be losing and he has had a considerable struggle in terms of big match-ups against other Top-10 players for a while. With that being said, despite Tsitsipas clearly searching for his game, his confidence and his depth of shot he is still making himself a part of the conversation even if he comes in as a considerable underdog against Alcaraz.
Tsitsipas has a losing 0-4 H2H against Alcaraz. The biggest problem for Tsitsipas really is that he not only lacks tactical options but he refuses to lean on unfamiliar alternatives when his initial strategy is failing him. Tsitsipas’ serve, first forehand and ability to dictate with heavy spin on a clay court is good enough to beat most players, but in elite match-ups like this next one in the quarter-final he needs more dimensions to his game. Alcaraz certainly doesn’t lack that – his kick serve is quite effective against the Greek’s backhand, he does a considerable amount of the rushing from the back of the court, searches for the drop shot, and isn’t afraid to serve and volley either. The return of serve is perhaps the biggest difference maker and factor, and if Tsitsipas can’t build pressure with that particular shot it is only going one way.
Prediction: Alcaraz in straight sets.
Novak Djokovic [3] vs Karen Khachanov [11] H2H and Match Fundamentals
| Novak Djokovic [3] vs Karen Khachanov [11] | H2H: Djokovic leads 8-1 |
| Roland Garros 2023 | Paris, France |
| Clay (O) | Prize Money: €400,000 |
| Third on Court Chatrier, from 11am (10am 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 has worked his way towards good form this tournament. In his previous match vs Juan Pablo Varillas it was the best that the Serbian’s serve and forehand has looked throughout the clay court season and it feels like he is gradually going up several gears now that the enticing match-ups are just around the corner.
Next up for Djokovic is old foe Karen Khachanov. Khachanov is easily playing the best tennis of his career thus far, now translating flashes of brilliance at tour-level that sometimes amounts to a big title win, but now looking like a consistent performer at the four big majors in addition. The Russian may not be an obvious threat to go all the way towards the title, but he has history of beating Djokovic in the past and will come into this feeling he has very little to lose.
Khachanov won one of the more key matches in this H2H having defeated Djokovic in the Paris Masters final in 2018. Djokovic was very much off his game that day, but Khachanov played inspired tennis to win his only Masters title to date. The difficulty Djokovic may have with this match-up is that Khachanov is capable of making this a real arm-wrestle in rally, very capable to unwind and unleash heavy blows if allowed time on his forehand and he also possesses a backhand that doesn’t break down very often either. As a result Djokovic may have to work extremely hard for this, not necessarily find obvious patterns off the ground, but it would be recommended to penetrate the Russian’s forehand strength to exploit the technique and draw shorter balls. Aside from the battle for superiority in rally, Djokovic is going to have the substantial edge from the service line and should progress to the semi-final.
Prediction: Djokovic in four sets.
Aryna Sabalenka [2] vs Elina Svitolina H2H and Match Fundamentals
| Aryna Sabalenka [2] vs Elina Svitolina | H2H: Level at 1-1 |
| Roland Garros 2023 | Paris, France |
| Clay (O) | Prize Money: €400,000 |
| Second on Court Chatrier, after 11am (10am 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 |
Aryna Sabalenka navigated her way through a huge test in the fourth round after beating Sloane Stephens in straight sets. Sabalenka lost a 5-0* double break lead, and needed a total of five set points to win that first set before finding just about enough control to her aggression in the second set to seal victory.
Elina Svitolina may be quite early in her return to competitive tennis, but she has really fought and dug deep in a lot of her victories this fortnight, including a couple of three set wins versus Storm Sanders and Anna Blinkova before beating fellow counter-puncher Daria Kasatkina in the fourth round.
Svitolina stylistically has the type of game that would historically cause the Belarusian a lot of issues over the years, her ability to extend and prolong a point, her elite counter-punching ability and her fighting spirit gets her over the line more often than not. Sabalenka has grown more versatile in recent years though, now not only having arguably the biggest power game of anyone on tour at present, but she now harnesses those weapons on a more consistent basis. As we saw against Stephens in the previous round the challenge of both the conditions and a competent defender can work against her, but Sabalenka will have more than enough opportunities to overpower Svitolina, with the Ukrainian’s second serve being the most obvious avenue to attack and get on the front foot.
Prediction: Sabalenka in three sets.
 |
|---|
Karolina Muchova vs Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova H2H and Match Fundamentals
| Karolina Muchova vs Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova | H2H: Pavlyuchenkova leads 2-1 |
| Roland Garros 2023 | Paris, France |
| Clay (O) | Prize Money: €400,000 |
| First on Court Chatrier, from 11am (10am 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 |
When you break down and analyse Karolina Muchova’s game-style you would not think she could make it work as much on a slower clay court, but she has proved many people wrong, showcased the versatility of her game to a certain extent and she is now competing in one of the quarter-finals of considerable opportunities as she collides with comeback queen Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.
Pavlyuchenkova’s road to the quarter-final has been a difficult one, having to get past three big seeds in Liudmila Samsonova, Anastasia Potapova and lastly Elise Mertens all in spirited three set victories. The Russian is a former losing finalist at the French Open so perhaps may feel like there is some unfinished business at this tournament in particular.
Muchova has many good qualities as a player. Her all-court prowess, craftiness with the backhand slice, her eagerness to mix in serve and volley at random times, and she glides so effortlessly around the court. As a result her immediate results point to more familiarity on the grass and on a quicker hard court, but on the clay her forehand has looked absolutely outstanding with time to execute and dominate. Pavlyuchenkova is comfortably one of the more aggressive baseliners on tour and unlike the Czech she is comfortable being aggressive off both forehand and backhand, which could prove to be a notable factor. However if Muchova gets enough of her variety on the match court she could really make Pavlyuchenkova feel awkward on the day.
Prediction: Muchova in three sets.
How to Watch/Follow Roland Garros 2023
| 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 |
| Follow Britwatch - Sport in General, Brits in Particular! | |
|---|---|
| Soundcloud | |
| YouTube | |
| We may receive compensation for products purchased via affiliate links on this website | |