Rain on Day 4 of the French Open meant only five men’s matches were completed. There was still a lot of entertaining tennis played, with Australian Open champion Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz and three-time Grand Slam champion Stan Wawrinka among those in action. This article recaps who played well, which players struggled and then names the best match of the day.
French Open Day 4 Men’s Recap
Who Looked Good
Jannik Sinner won in straight sets for the second match in a row. He defeated French stalwart Richard Gasquet 6-4 6-2 6-4. Gasquet fought admirably against the world No. 2 in slow conditions under the roof on Court Philippe-Chatrier that did not suit him. But Sinner was very solid throughout to claim his 30th win of the season.
Andrey Rublev also progressed in straight sets on Day 4 at the French Open. The former Grand Slam quarterfinalist beat Pedro Martinez 6-3 6-4 6-3. He struck 56 winners during his very impressive performance. That will give Rublev additional confidence, as he seeks to prove he can go all the way at a Grand Slam for the first time.
Stefanos Tsitsipas needed to work more for his victory in Paris. He was pushed hard by the German Daniel Altmaier in the final two sets, before eventually prevailing 6-3 6-2 6-7 6-4. Altmaier went into the match with a 4-3 record against Top 10 players, making this a particularly good victory for the 2021 runner-up.
Who Looked Bad
It is rare for the winner of a match to be in this section. However, Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz’s French Open performance was slightly concerning. He triumphed 6-3 6-4 2-6 6-2 against Jesper De Jong but his game was somewhat wayward throughout. Although De Jong played a great third set, Alcaraz will be relieved that he was not competing against a player who could have taken advantage of his level in each set.
Pedro Martinez may also be slightly disappointed with his performance. Although Rublev is a very tough player to face, the Spaniard’s impressive clay-court season meant he had the potential to make it more difficult for the Russian. Martinez never came close to doing that.
Match Of The Day
2015 champion Stan Wawrinka’s battle with Pavel Kotov was the best men’s match on Day 4 of the French Open. The first set went to a tiebreak after impressive serving from both players. After some tense and exciting rallies, Kotov managed to take the opening set by winning the tiebreak 7-5. There were more excellent shots by both men in the second set, including from Wawrinka’s famous one-handed backhand. However, Kotov also claimed the second set 6-4, after breaking the 39-year-old’s serve twice.
Wawrinka then raised his level even further in the third set. At 1-1, he won five games in a row to take the contest to a fourth set. With the crowd firmly behind Wawrinka, the fourth set was the best of the match. After Wawrinka broke first, Kotov broke twice in a row and seemed to have victory sealed. However, the Swiss was not done yet and broke for a second time in the set. The fourth set went to the second tiebreak of the contest. Once again, Kotov managed to win it 7-5 to seal a 7-6 6-4 1-6 7-6 triumph.
Main Photo Credit: Mike Frey-USA TODAY Sports
