Hiram Moreno
We enter the second week of Roland Garros 2022 while those tennis players who will participate in the tournament finals begin to dazzle. Both the ATP and WTA circuits are in their quarterfinal phase, and after a few surprises here and there, only eight are left alive in both men’s and women’s tennis.
Join us to disclose what each one of them left by in this second Grand Slam of the year.
Alexander Zverev vs. Carlos Alcaraz
Zverev comes to the quarterfinals hoping that this Roland Garros will be that opportunity he has been waiting for to win his first Grand Slam title in his career. Along the way he outclassed Sebastian Ofner, Sebastián Báez, Brandon Nakashima, and Bernabé Zapata. Of them, only Báez is ranked between the top 50 of the ATP, so this is considered to be his biggest challenge till now.
Carlos Alcaraz continues to give the circuit something to talk about, and the 19-year-old continues his dream year, as he arrived at Roland Garros after winning the title in Rio de Janeiro, Miami, Barcelona, and Madrid, defeating Zverev 2-0 in the final of Madrid. His path to these quarterfinals has not been easy, leaving behind Juan Ignacio Londero (#142 in the world ranking), Albert Ramos Viñolas (#44), Sebastian Korda (#30) and Karen Khachanov (#25). On his journey, he only lost sets against his compatriot Viñolas, being dominant in his other encounters.
From recent results, the Spaniard seems to be at advantage, as well as having had more rest than the Russian, who has been forced to play three tiebreakers so far. Additionally, Zverev has an 0-11 Grand Slam record when facing top 10 tennis players, and Alcaraz is currently ranked sixth.
Novak Djokovic vs. Rafael Nadal
This will be the clash of titans that everyone wants to see at this Roland Garros, and one of these two greats will have to say goodbye to the tournament early when they meet in this round of quarterfinals.
Djokovic, current champion of this tournament, has not lost a set on his way to this second week of Roland Garros, beating Yoshihito Nishioka, Alex Molčan, Aljaz Bedene, and Diego Schwartzman on his way, losing more than three games only against Molčan.
Rafael Nadal, the top winner of this competition, is looking for his fourteenth Roland Garros title, while he will try to avenge his elimination against the Serbian in this tournament in the 2021 semifinal. His path in this edition of the competition has become more complicated with the passing of the rounds, as his opponents increased in difficulty, first beating Jordan Thompson and Corentin Moutet to later face Botic van de Zandschulp, and Felix-Auger Aliassime (#29 and #9 in the world ranking, respectively).
It could be said that Djokovic has the advantage, as Nadal arrives tired after a five-set match that lasted four hours and 23 minutes against Aliassime. Notwithstanding, under no circumstance will the Spaniard be ruled out when playing in his favorite tournament.
Casper Ruud vs. Holger Rune
Casper Ruud has not had an easy road to these quarterfinals. In his first round match he had to play three tiebreakers against the #297 in the world, Jo-Wilfied Tsonga, and, although in the second round he had no problems against Emil Ruusuvuori, the round of 32 and round of 16 presented a challenge, as he beat Lorenzo Sonego 3-2, and Hubert Hurkacz 3-1, respectively.
Holger Rune is another young man who has had an irruption in this 2022 on the ATP circuit. The 19-year-old Danish has already won his first ATP title in Munich, although it was due to the withdrawal of his opponent in the final. Apart from that, his journey in this Roland Garros has been impeccable,as he won three sets in his first three matches against Denis Shapovalov, Henri Laaksonen, and Hugo Gastón, before eliminating the competition’s 2021 finalist and current world #4 Stefanos Tsitsipas 7-5, 3-6, 6 -3, 6-4 in the round of 16.
So far, it seems that Rune is at an advantage, since his victory against Tsitsipas is a demonstration of the Danish’s good game. What’s more, Ruud comes from playing more sets, thus, he is more tired.
Andrey Rublev vs. Marin Čilić
Andrey Rublev will surely be grateful after his last opponent, Jannik Sinner, bowed out in the third set, as the match seemed to be a long and tiring one for the Russian, who has played four sets in all his appearances at this Roland Garros so f ar. He beat tennis players like Soonwoo Kwon, Federico Delbonis, and Cristian Garín along the way.
Marin Čilić is seeking an unlikely second Grand Slam title, as he won his first in 2014 at the US Open. The Croatian has played at an excellent level in this tournament, dispatching three of his four opponents in straight sets, including current world #2 Daniil Medvedev in his last match, and lost more than three games in a set on just one occasion so far. His rivals have been Attila Balasz (first round), Márton Fucsovics (second round), and Gilles Simon (round of 32), so this will be his second big test in the tournament.
In terms of quality, Rublev may have the advantage, but Čilić has played very well in this edition of the tournament and his victory against Medvedev should show that he will not be an easy opponent to beat.
