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Roland Garros: Three to See on Day 10

Jun 5th 2017

Kristina Mladenovic versus Timea Bacsinszky

The field has been whittled down to eight, and by the time this Roland Garros has finished, one of the remaining women will become a first-time major singles champion.  The French crowd dearly hopes the last woman standing is their own Kristina Mladenovic.  The thirteenth seed has been made to work to reach this round, but she has fed off the energy of the crowd and continued to raise her level when she has needed to most.  She will likely have to call on them again when she faces Timea Bacsinszky to advance to her first Slam semifinal. 

Timea Bacsinszky

The Swiss cannot match Mladenovic's firepower, but she does have more tools in her bag of tricks.  Those were on full display with the way she disrupted the rhythm of Venus Williams in the last round.  As evidenced by the way she bounced back after squandering a 5-1 lead in the first set against Williams, the thirtieth seed is clearly a player who is not going to go away, no matter what the circumstances either.  Additionally, the Swiss is a great retriever, which could cause problems for Mladenovic, who has a tendency to be erratic.  All told, this one will likely come down to a handful of points determined by who can hold her nerve at the most crucial moments.

Rafael Nadal versus Pablo Carreno Busta

Rafael Nadal was undoubtedly smiling when he saw Pablo Carreno Busta complete the upset over Milos Raonic, and it had little to do with being happy for his countryman.  Carreno Busta does not have the hefty weapons of the higher-ranked Canadian that might have posed a challenge to Nadal, but that does not mean that the fourth seed will already be looking forward to the semifinals.  Carreno Busta is a solid baseline player, presently ranked just outside of the Top 20, who has started to put everything together this year to post some of his best results.  He loves to inflict damage with his backhand, but he is plenty capable of making inroads with his forehand. 

Pablo Carreno Busta

Perhaps most importantly though, Carreno Busta is a guy who will not throw in the towel.  Down 4-0 in the first set against Grigor Dimitrov, he came back to defeat the Bulgarian in straight sets in the third round.  It was also impressive the way he kept his wits in his victory over Raonic, where he not only had to come from a break down in the fifth, but rebounded from having failed to serve out the match once and saw multiple match points fall by the wayside.  The issue for the younger Spaniard is that Nadal is the ultimate competitor.  He can surpass the consistency of the twentieth seed, and his topspin will likely allow him to make more headway in the rallies.  The greater boon for Nadal, however, is that he has such a huge mental edge.  He is by far the fresher of the two, and whereas Nadal has been here countless times, Carreno Busta has never been to the semifinal of any major.  Suffice it to say, Nadal represents a huge hurdle for Carreno Busta, and unless the elder Spaniard is feeling in a charitable mood, one which Carreno Busta will not clear on Tuesday.

Novak Djokovic versus Dominic Thiem

Novak Djokovic facing off against Dominic Thiem was one of the most-anticipated quarterfinals coming into this event, and both men have held up their end of the bargain to make it happen.  Despite what their seeding would suggest, there are many looking at Thiem as the favorite in this match.  He has enjoyed a wonderful clay season, reaching the finals of both Barcelona and Madrid, and he is the only man to hand Rafael Nadal a defeat on the clay this spring.  He is at a career-high ranking of world no.7 and has yet to drop a set on his way to the quarterfinals.  Of late, he has been clocking the ball harder than anyone – off both wings – and when firing on all cylinders, can impose his will on just about any opponent.

Dominic Thiem

Imposing his will is something Novak Djokovic has been known for, but he has struggled to do that since winning the title here last year.  He has already been pushed to the brink earlier this tournament, and he has been fighting himself as much as his opponents.  The good news for Djokovic is that he is starting to win more matches despite his sloppy form, which breeds its own kind of belief.  He also should be able to draw some good vibes from past matches with Thiem.  He is a perfect 5-0 against the Austrian, and he absolutely drubbed the sixth seed when they met earlier this spring in Rome where Djokovic lost just a single game.  If Thiem has recovered from any scarring that may have carried over from that debacle, then he has a great look to advance to the final four, especially based on the current form of both players.  But it is so hard to count out such an accomplished champion like Djokovic, which is why neither outcome in this match should come as a surprise to anyone.