French Open #SmashTalk: Is Muguruza heading to the final?

Top seeds Rafael Nadal and Simona Halep are still in contention but we’ve lost a few big names along the way, so who’s in the best shape after week one at Roland Garros?

The #SmashTalk team of Vivienne Christie, Piers Newbery and Leigh Rogers picks the four players they expect to line up in next weekend’s finals, and looks ahead to Monday’s Serena Williams v Maria Sharapova match.

We would love to know your thoughts on today’s big topics too. Have your say on Facebook and Twitter using #SmashTalk.

Who will reach the men’s final?

Piers Newbery: Nadal and Thiem. No prizes for guessing the name to come through the top half of the draw: form, fitness, history – it all points overwhelmingly to Nadal, although the power of Isner or Del Potro could claim a set in the semis. Djokovic is well placed in the other half, but Thiem looks to be peaking and is ready to make a final in Paris.

Vivienne Christie: Nadal and Thiem: Rafa because – who else? Thiem because Zverev must be running out of steam ahead of their quarterfinal and while Novak Djokovic is recovering past form, I don’t think he’s quite ready for a final this week.

REPORT: Zverev to face Thiem in quarters

Leigh Rogers: Nadal and Djokovic. Zverev’s run is overshadowing Djokovic’s quiet yet solid progression through the more unpredictable bottom half. The Serb’s confidence must be improving with each win, which bodes well for his chances of reaching a fifth Roland Garros final.

And the women’s final?

Vivienne: Muguruza v Wozniacki. If Muguruza maintains the form she showed against Stosur, few can stop her. Wozniacki needs to recover against Kasatkina but a delay will help, and it will be just the scare she needs to progress to another Championship match.

J'adore ce court et ce public!
Me encanta esta pista y este público!
Love this court and this crowd! #SecondWeek #RG18???? pic.twitter.com/gmt5CPRjdS

— Garbiñe Muguruza (@GarbiMuguruza) June 2, 2018

Leigh: Muguruza v Stephens. I tipped Muguruza to win the title at the start of the tournament and her form is looking promising. Sloane’s momentum is building nicely too.

Piers: Muguruza v Stephens. It appears that the major-wining version of Muguruza is in Paris this year, and once she gets on a roll at the Grand Slams she is hard to stop. In the bottom half of the draw, it’s the Americans who have caught the attention, and I’m backing the steadier Stephens to repeat her US Open win over Keys in the semis.

Story of the week

Leigh: Lucky losers. The ITF’s new rule to prevent injured players taking the court is clearly working, with eight lucky losers making it into the men’s singles draw (and four advancing to the second round). After the confusion that followed the tournament running out of signed-in lucky losers on day one, you’d expect players who lose in qualifying won’t leave Grand Slam sites too early in future.

Vivienne: Novak Djokovic. Whisper it, but the 12-time Grand Slam champion appears to be on the way back. The Novak of old re-emerged as he persisted for almost four hours to defeat Roberto Bautista Agut, and the desire to compete was there again as he beat Fernando Verdasco. We can’t quite claim vintage Djokovic yet, but the struggles with injury and form might just be behind him.

Sigue en viaje Trunge. Con una sonrisa acorde a la situación. pic.twitter.com/4vm8aWZ5U8

— FueBuena (@FueBuena) May 27, 2018

Piers: Marco Trungelliti. For the late-night 10-hour drive from Barcelona to sign in as a lucky loser; for his grandmother only knowing he had won when the crowd started applauding; for winning his first-round match; and for dealing with the media frenzy with charm and humour. The image of the Argentine and his family squeezed into a car, racing to Roland Garros, provided a rare connection from the sporting elite to the rest of us.

Serena v Sharapova – who wins?

Vivienne: Serena. Sharapova will never have a better chance against her old foe, but Serena will lift – as she always does – against her biggest rival. I expect Williams to claim her 20^th win over the Russian in three sets.

Piers: Sharapova. If she is ever going to end that epic losing streak it must be today, and her form and match fitness has been building nicely in recent weeks. And Serena must get tired soon, surely?

Leigh: Serena. This much-hyped match-up has a history of one-sided battles – remember the Australian Open 2007 final when Maria was favoured on form? Serena will win convincingly.