Tuesday, June 5, 2018

french open 2018

Rafael Nadal's quarter-final showdown with Diego Schwartzman headlines Wednesday's action at the French Open.

Nadal has been in imperious form at Roland Garros, as the defending champion chases an 11th title on clay. He'll be taking on a buoyant Schwartzman, though, as the 11th seed recovered from two sets behind to beat Kevin Anderson in five.

Elsewhere, Marin Cilic and Juan Martin del Potro go head-to-head in a battle of the big hitters. In the women's draw there are two more fascinating quarters, as top seed Simona Halep takes on former world No. 1 Angelique Kerber; former champions Garbine Muguruza and Maria Sharapova also juke it out.

Here's a look at the quarter-final matches to come on Wednesday and a preview of what's set up to be one of the most enjoyable days of the competition so far.

         

Wednesday Matches

Men's Quarter-Finals

(1) Rafael Nadal* vs. (11) Diego Schwartzman

(3) Marin Cilic* vs. (5) Juan Martin del Potro

         

Women's Quarter-Finals

(1) Simona Halep* vs. (12) Angelique Kerber

(3) Garbine Muguruza* vs. (28) Maria Sharapova

*Denotes predicted winnerWe're ultimately down to the elite at this point in the French Open, and the name Rafael Nadal is synonymous with elite in the tennis world. Nadal's next match is Wednesday against No. 11 seed Diego Schwartzman, who had a difficult time against No. 6 Kevin Anderson in the Round of 16. Nadal, seeking his 11th French Open title, has looked untouchable to this point, having yet to drop a set at Roland-Garros.

Elsewhere in the men's bracket, No. 3 Marin Cilic will be up against No. 5 Juan Martin del Potro. Cilic is trying to make it to his second Grand Slam final of the year after falling to Roger Federer in the Australian Open final. Cilic hit a bit of a speed bump against Fabio Fognini when he was taken to five sets after going up two sets to none to start the match, but he ultimately took the final set 6-3.

On the women's side, an All-American semifinal is already set, but we still have another one to determine. No. 3 Garbine Muguruza will play No. 28 Maria Sharapova on Wednesday. Both of these two will be well-rested. Sharapova moved on Monday when Serena Williams was forced to retire due to a pectoral injury and Muguruza advanced just two games into the first set of her match against Lesia Tsurenko. Sharapova is 3-0 over Muguruza, but the two haven't played since 2014 and they've only played in a major once -- the 2014 French Open, which then No. 7 Sharapova won after defeating an unseeded Muguruza in the quarterfinals.

The winner of that match will play either No. 1 Simona Halep or No. 12 Angelique Kerber. These two are 5-5 against each other, last facing off in the semifinals of the Australian Open. They now play again for a semifinal berth, as Kerber tries to upset Halep. Halep has lost just one set to date back in the Round of 128. Since then, only Andrea Petkovic has come close to taking a set from Halep. Kerber hasn't lost a set yet, though she was taken to tiebreakers in both sets against Kiki Bertens in the Round of 32.

French Open schedule for Wednesday
Men's singles matches
No. 1 Rafael Nadal vs. No. 11 Diego Schwartzman (9:15 a.m.)
No. 3 Marin Cilic vs. No. 5 Juan Martin del Potro (9:15 a.m.)
Women's singles matches
No. 1 Simona Halep vs. No. 12 Angelique Kerber (TBD)
No. 3 Garbine Muguruza vs. No. 28 Maria Sharapova (8 a.m.)
Here's a round-by-round breakdown of the dates for each round of this year's French Open, along with how you can watch them. Check your local listings to see where the stations playing air near you.

Quarterfinals
Dates: Tuesday, June 5 and Wednesday, June 6
Time: 7 a.m. - 1 p.m. ET
TV: Tennis Channel
Stream: Tennis Channel Everywhere
Women's Semifinals
Date: Thursday, June 7
Time: 8 a.m. - 2 p.m. ET
TV: Tennis Channel, NBC
Stream: FuboTV (try for free), Tennis Channel Everywhere 
Men's Semifinals
Date: Friday, June 8
Time: 6 a.m. - 2 p.m. ET
TV: Tennis Channel, NBC
Stream: FuboTV (try for free), Tennis Channel Everywhere 
Women's Final
Date: Saturday, June 9
Time: 9 a.m. - 1 p.m. ET
TV:  NBC
Stream: FuboTV (try for free)
Men's Final
Date: Sunday, June 10
Time: 9 a.m. - 2 p.m. ET
TV:  NBC
Stream: FuboTV (try for free)

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french open 2018

Rafael Nadal's quarter-final showdown with Diego Schwartzman headlines Wednesday's action at the French Open. Nadal has been in im...