Roland Garros so often gives an added incentive for the home favourites in the men’s draw. The crowd pleasers such as Gael Monfils and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga are in action on Sunday alongside fellow Frenchman Gilles Simon. Richard Gasquet and Jeremy Chardy booked their places in the fourth round after both impressively came through their respective third round ties. With five Frenchmen still in the draw it’s an exciting time for the French supporters in Paris.
Chardy had an easy win over Belgian youngster David Goffin. Chardy breezed past Goffin in straight sets taking out the victory 6-3, 6-4, 6-2. Gasquet had the sterner task of South African Kevin Anderson. However Gasquet was in fine from and after a shaky start he won the three final sets of the four set encounter winning 4-6, 7-6(4), 7-5, 6-4. Chardy, who is unseeded, is not expected to go much further. He faces off against the in-form Andy Murray in the fourth round. It does not get much easier for Gasquet who comes up against the practically untouchable Novak Djokovic. Based on form it is safe to assume that both these men will struggle to make it to the last eight. Of course it is naive to rule out a Frenchman on the clay courts of Paris but with their current ties and the shape of the rest of the top half of the draw French hopes may lie further down the order of play.
The fourth round ties of the bottom half of the draw will be played out on Sunday. The match ups themselves seem unfavourable for the Frenchmen. Showman and crowd favourite Gael Monfils faces off against #2 seed Roger Federer. This might seem like an uphill task for Monfils but given Federer’s record of slipping up against lower ranked players at the French Open and with the home crowd behind Monfils it may not be quite as large of a task as it might seem. Regardless it is still Federer and Monfils will have to be at his best to stand any chance of progressing. It isn’t exactly plain sailing for Tsonga either. He’s up against big hitting Czech Tomas Berdych. Berdych needed four sets to overcome fellow Czech Radek Stepanek in the third round which may boost Tsonga’s confidence. It may well prove to be the match of the day. Berdych has 6-2 advantage in the pairs head to head record but with the Roland Garros crowd cheering Tsonga on don’t be surprised if he finds himself in the Quarterfinal.
Then finally there’s Simon. Probably the most docile of the French players at Roland Garros, Simon will come up against another Swiss man. This time in the form of 2014 Australian Open Champion Stan Wawrinka. Despite not being the entertainer that both Tsonga and Monfils are, Simon could prove the Dark Horse of the French Contingent. Simon has been steadily climbing up the rankings this year starting from 21st to his current ranking of 13. He also arguably has the easiest task of the Frenchman on day eight of the tournament against Wawrinka. I would not anticipate Simon to go all the way in France but be sure to keep a close eye on his encounter with Wawrinka.
Otherwise expect to see fascinating matches on Phillipe-Chartrier with a triple header of French players with Alize Cornet also in action on Sunday. Can any of the French Men’s contingent go all the way in Paris. We will simply have to wait and see.
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