China’s Zhang Zhizhen and Mirra Andreeva target breakthrough runs to the French Open last 16 on Saturday.
A look ahead at three standout matches on the seventh day of the 2023 tournament (x denotes seeded player):
Zhang Zhizhen (CHN) v Casper Ruud (NOR x4)
Zhang can become the first Chinese man in the Open era to reach the French Open last 16 but faces a huge task in trying to upset Ruud, the runner-up to Rafael Nadal in 2022.
Zhang, ranked 71 in the world, has made the most of his good fortune in Paris — first round opponent Dusan Lajovic retired injured while 153rd-ranked Thiago Agustin Tirante, who he defeated in the second round, was making his Grand Slam debut.
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World number four Ruud has now reached the last 32 at Roland Garros for the fifth year in a row.
Having won the Estoril clay court title in April, the 24-year-old enjoyed a confidence-boosting run to the semi-finals in Rome on the eve of the French Open.
However, Zhang also has clay court pedigree, making a surprise run to the last 16 of the Madrid Masters last month, knocking out Cameron Norrie and Taylor Fritz on the way.
Mirra Andreeva v Coco Gauff (USA x6)
Like Ruud, Gauff also suffered heartbreak in Paris 12 months ago, losing the final to Iga Swiatek.
The 19-year-old came from a set down to defeat Rebeka Masarova in the first round this week before a far more comfortable victory against Julia Grabher to reach the last 32.
On Saturday, Gauff will have the rare experience of facing someone younger than herself in 16-year-old Andreeva, the breakout star of Roland Garros.
“I’m sure she’s not thinking about her age on the court,” Gauff said. “And all the people who’ve played against me when I was her age, I don’t know if they were thinking about my age. I doubt they were.”
Andreeva, ranked 143 and who came through qualifying to make her Grand Slam debut, hasn’t dropped a set in her first two matches.
She is the youngest player to reach the third round since a 15-year-old Sesil Karatantcheva made the 2005 quarter-finals and just the seventh woman in the last 30 years to play in the last 32 before turning 17. Her 2023 professional record now stands at 22-2.
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Andreeva and Gauff have already practised together at Roland Garros this week.
“She plays quite aggressive. But the practice and the match is different, so I might also play different. I don’t know. Who knows?,” said the teenager.
Holger Rune (DEN x6) v Genaro Alberto Olivieri (ARG)
Rune made the quarter-finals on his Roland Garros debut in 2022 while still a teenager.
This year, he needed four sets to defeat Christopher Eubanks in the first round before being handed a walkover into the last 32 when French veteran Gael Monfils withdrew with a wrist injury.
Ranked a lowly 231 in the world, Olivieri successfully qualified for a Grand Slam for the first time.
He is already guaranteed $152,000 in prize money for making the third round — his earnings for his entire seven-year career as a professional were just $195,000 coming into Paris.
The Argentine is riding a wave of emotion at Roland Garros. When asked who he was thinking of when he passed the first round, his answer was simple.
“My father, who died during the pandemic,” he said. “He was my sidekick, the person who helped me in every way — psychologically, emotionally.
“I always remember him. I hope he is now watching everything that is happening to me this week and that he has an even bigger smile than I do.”
(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed – AFP)
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