The tennis world has been waiting for a showdown between Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic. It will happen at the French Open if both can win their quarterfinals.
First Djokovic, the 22-time Grand Slam champion who is seeded No. 3, plays No. 11 Karen Khachanov in Court Philippe Chatrier on Tuesday. Then, at night, No. 1 Alcaraz, who won last year’s U.S. Open, takes on No. 5 Stefanos Tsitsipas, a two-time runner-up at major tournaments.
The winners of those two matches will face each other in the semifinals.
Alcaraz, 20, and Djokovic, 36, have had one previous match on tour. Alcaraz won at the clay-court Madrid Masters last year.
In Tuesday’s women’s quarterfinals, Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka will play Elina Svitolina, and 2021 French Open finalist Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova goes up against Karolina Muchova.
Sabalenka is from Belarus, and Svitolina — playing in her first major since becoming a mother — is from Ukraine. Belarus aided Russia in its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, and the war continues. Like other players from Ukraine, including Sabalenka’s first-round opponent last week, Svitolina has not been shaking hands with players from Belarus or Russia after matches.
WHAT HAPPENED ON MONDAY?
Coco Gauff set up a quarterfinal against Iga Swiatek — a rematch of the 2022 French Open final, won by Swiatek. Another quarterfinal Wednesday will be Ons Jabeur vs. Beatriz Haddad Maia. The men’s bracket will have these quarterfinals: No. 4 Casper Ruud against No. 6 Holger Rune, and No. 22 Alexander Zverev vs. Tomas Martin Etcheverry.
WHAT ELSE HAPPENED ON MONDAY?
A point that involved a double-bounce and a yell of “Sorry!” drew a ton of attention during Rune’s 7-6 (3), 3-6, 6-4, 1-6, 7-6 (10-7) victory over Francisco Cerundolo.
WHEN ARE TUESDAY’S MATCHES?
Play begins at 11 a.m. local time in Paris, which is 2:30 p.m. IST, with Muchova-Pavlyuchenkova, followed by Sabalenka-Svitolina, then Djokovic-Khachanov. The night match, Alcaraz-Tsitsipas, is scheduled to start at 8:15 p.m. local time.
THE NUMBER TO KNOW
6-0 — Iga Swiatek’s record against Coco Gauff in their previous matches.
THE QUOTE TO KNOW
“I think tennis is not a 100-meter race. It’s a marathon. Especially my matches.” — Beatriz Haddad Maia, after her 6-7 (3), 6-3, 7-5 win against Sara Sorribes Tormo, which lasted 3 hours, 51 minutes.
UPCOMING SINGLES SCHEDULE
— Monday: Fourth Round (Women and Men)
— Tuesday-Wednesday: Quarterfinals (Women and Men)
— Thursday: Women’s Semifinals
— Friday: Men’s Semifinals
— Saturday: Women’s Final
— Sunday: Men’s Final
