French Open #SmashTalk: A quarter opens up

For a lucky few, results at a Grand Slam mean that their quarter opens up nicely. That’s exactly what happened to Karolina Pliskova yesterday, who not only ground out a tricky win, but saw the biggest rival in her quarter falter. The #SmashTalk team digest the daily news.

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Biggest winner on day five:

Vivienne Christie: French tennis. Losses to Chloe Paquet, Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Jeremy Chardy aside, it was quite the day for locals. Caroline Garcia and Alize Cornet won easily in the women’s draw (against Paquet and the higher-ranked Barbora Strycova respectively) while there were seamless wins for Gael Monfils (over Thiego Monteiro) and Richard Gasquet (Victor Estrella Burgos). The flipside is that Gasquet and Monfils now meet in the fourth round – but at least there’ll be one French player in the quarterfinals.

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Paul Moore: I’m going to go with Karolina Pliskova. On any other surface the world No.2 would have walloped Ekaterina Alexandrova, but this is clay. That Pliskova came through relatively unscathed was a good result. That the only threat in her quarter (Pavlyuchenkova) also happened to go out was undoubtedly the icing on the cake.

Leigh Rogers: Karen Khachanov. Making a first Grand Slam third round is a major breakthrough for the talented 21-year-old Russian. Yet the most impressive part is how he did it, eliminating experienced No.13 seed Tomas Berdych in straight sets.

Biggest loser on day four:

VC: With a (dis)honourable mention to Nick Kyrgios, I worry for Tomas Berdych. A straight-sets exit to Karin Khachanov halts any momentum that the Czech established with a finals run in Lyon; defending quarterfinal points from 2016, Berdych (currently ranked No.14) may struggle to re-enter the top 10.

PM: It’s got to be Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. Friday’s draw appeared to gift the Russian a path into the semifinals. Losing to Cepede Royg, a player most people have never heard of, is not only an awful result, but has stymied one of her few chances of Grand Slam glory.

LR: Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. Not only would the Russian be disappointed with her three-set loss to unheralded Veronica Cepede Royg, but a glance ahead at a wide open bottom quarter would leave her ruing a missed opportunity to make a deep run.

What’s the must watch match on day five?

VC: On paper, the Dominic Thiem v Steve Johnson third round seems one-sided; the fast-rising Thiem has surrendered just 12 games, while Johnson has played nine gruelling sets and is emotionally spent after the recent death of his father. Thiem was the winner in their only other match but with so much at stake, the pair’s first meeting in over three years could develop into an unexpected thriller.

PM: It’s hard to pick one (largely because none of them really leap out as popcorn match-ups), but Muguruza v Putintseva could be interesting. The defending champion is decidedly wobbly, and Putintseva is undeniably fiery, and that should be a recipe for a fun little ding dong.

LR: Shelby Rogers v Kristina Mladenovic. “She’s not very famous. The crowd doesn’t know her,” Mladenovic said when asked about her American opponent. Sure Rogers might not have the profile of the world No.14, but she did beat the Frenchwoman 6-1 6-1 in their only previous career meeting last year and was at quarterfinalist at Roland Garros 2016. Expect some big-hitting in what will be a big test for crowd favourite Mladenovic.

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Which seed is going to struggle on day five?

VC: Every player knows to be wary of Spaniards at Roland Garros – and No.16 seed Lucas Pouille will be especially so as he takes on No.19 seed Albert Ramos-Vinolas. Tied at 1-1 in their head-to-heads, Ramos-Vinolas won their most recent meeting in the Monte Carlo semifinals. The lefty is vying to reach the final 16 for the second time but if an epic unfolds – which is highly possible – the match could turn in Pouille’s favour: his earlier win over Julien Benneteau marked the Frenchman’s fifth consecutive win in a five-setter.

PM: Grigor Dimitrov. The eleventh seed has enjoyed a wretched run of form this past couple of months, and I think that will continue against Pablo Carreno Busta. The Spaniard has had a standout season thus far, and should go into this one as the favourite.

LR: Caroline Wozniacki. The former world No.1 might not have dropped a game in her last match, but she needs to be wary of 18-year-old American CiCi Bellis, who eliminated 2016 semifinalist Kiki Bertens in the second round. It is no secret the Dane is not the biggest fan of clay and against a young, fearless opponent with nothing to lose, this could be a danger match