The French Open men’s tournament moves to the quarterfinals in the lower half of the draw and so do our tennis picks for Wednesday. On Tuesday, we had three tennis picks from the women’s side of things, which included Timea Bacsinszky, Serena Williams and Madison Keys. However, if you’ve been following this tournament closely, you know that the rain has wreaked havoc in Paris unlike we’ve seen in recent years. After forcing through some matches earlier in the week (see: Simona Halep and Agnieszka Radwanska) and taking a lot of heat for it, the French Open officials have been more careful about. Tuesday was rained out so those tennis picks are still pending.
Looking ahead to Wednesday, the day will feature the portion of the draw with Andy Murray and Stan Wawrinka, both one win away from what would be a high-profile quarterfinal on Friday afternoon. It’s the match everyone expects, but this is not a tournament in which a lot of expected events have occurred. Will the higher-ranked players avoid upsets and fulfill their destiny, or will the underdogs get in the way?
Richard Gasquet vs. Andy Murray
This is a matchup in which all eyes will be on Gasquet. Will he be able to play as well as he did in the fourth round when he knocked off Kei Nishikori? Will he deal with the pressure of playing in his first French Open quarterfinal after failing to go that far at Roland Garros for more than a decade as an ATP Tour player? Will Gasquet be able to cover the court and play enough defense to hang in longer rallies? Gasquet has a world class backhand on which he can unload and gain the advantage quickly in points. Being able to show some endurance will be the crucial point, especially since the past few days of rain in Paris will likely leave the court slower. Gasquet will have problems hitting through the court. Murray should be able to get into a lot of longer rallies. The conditions on the court are probably going to play into Murray’s hand, though the one way they could favor Gasquet is that they’ll slow the court and thereby make Murray’s shots sit up so that Gasquet doesn’t have to run as much. You could make an argument for Gasquet here, but Murray is the more proven player in the later rounds of a Grand Slam match. It could go five, and no one would be shocked. Take Murray with your tennis picks as he should take it in four very long and close sets.
Pick: Murray in four sets
Albert Ramos-Vinolas vs. Stan Wawrinka
This is a matchup in which one very specific detail has to be accounted for. Ramos-Vinolas has enjoyed a very solid tournament, but it has to be said that in his last match, he handily defeated Milos Raonic (a top-eight seed) because Raonic had a sore hip. Raonic was treated for his pain and discomfort at the end of his third-round match two days earlier. Raonic got through that match, but he clearly wasn’t himself. Ramos-Vinolas did what he had to do, but the key point to make is that the match was not a spectacular demonstration of tennis from the Spaniard. He was solid and competent, but he did not give the impression that he’s ready to beat a player of Wawrinka’s caliber. Wawrinka is the defending French Open champion. He survived a five-set test and came back from a two-set-to-one deficit against Lukas Rosol in the first round. He appears to be in relatively good form – not perfect, but more than good enough to beat a player of Ramos-Vinolas’ ranking. Wawrinka has the bigger, better serve and the bigger, better shots. He is experienced in big tournaments and is used to dealing with the spotlight. Every possible factor you can imagine resides with Wawrinka in this match. It should be a routine scoreline this time, so take him with your tennis picks.
Pick: Wawrinka in straight sets
