Day 11 at the French Open will see the last two women’s quarterfinals. Who will punch their tickets to the last four? We’re here to offer our thoughts on both of Wednesday’s matches. Predicting these two matches are Jim Smith, Damian Kust, Pablo Mosquera, Nurein Ahmed, and myself (Yesh Ginsburg).<\/p>\n
Jim:<\/em> Damian:<\/em> Pablo:<\/em> Nurein:<\/em> Yesh:<\/em>
\nThis should be a very entertaining match. Siegemund may be relatively unorthodox in her approach, but she is an experienced campaigner and more than at home on the clay. Kvitova, in contrast, has enjoyed more success on hard and grass courts than she has the red dirt. But, she should still have the edge in this match. Siegemund\u2019s variety will keep the Czech from being comfortable, but Kvitova\u2019s power should allow her to hit through Siegemund and into her second French Open<\/a> semifinal.
\nPrediction: Kvitova in 3<\/em><\/p>\n
\nThe German has been making good results on clay events throughout her career (especially in Stuttgart), and it\u2019s great she finally made a run at the biggest event played on this surface. But I think her road ends here as she\u2019s facing perhaps the top contender for the title right now. Even on the clay (and it seems like she\u2019s one of these who benefit from the new balls etc.), Petra\u2019s peak level is beyond ridiculous and something probably unattainable for Siegemund.
\nPrediction: Kvitova in 2<\/em><\/p>\n
\nThis is uncharted territory for Siegemund, who has made her first ever Major quarterfinal despite starting slow every match. In her very first set of the tournament, only subpar officiating and poor sportsmanship prevented her from losing 6-1 to Kiki Mladenovic, who later imploded. Then, both Julia Goerges and Petra Martic held a one-set advantage, while Paula Badosa also squandered a 5-3 lead in the first. Anyway, the German deserves a lot of credit for not going away. Meanwhile, Kvitova has reached the quarters in Paris for the first time in eight years. It would be really surprising if she went all the way, but Siegemund and her drop shots won\u2019t stop the Czech lefty.
\nPrediction: Kvitova in 2<\/em><\/p>\n
\nYou can only deal with whatever is in front of you and Petra Kvitova has taken full advantage of her generous bottom section of draw. This is now a golden opportunity for the Czech to add to her Grand Slam tally with a host of big names already eliminated. While Siegemund has done ever so well to reach this stage and certainly not entirely out of question to spring an upset, Kvitova tends to be difficult to crack at the business end of tournaments.
\nPrediction: Kvitova in 2<\/em><\/p>\n
\nSiegemund is having one of the best tournaments of her life and is playing well. She’s no match for Kvitova generally, though, and with the intensity of the latter rounds of a Major, I don’t think the German will be able to keep up an intense level long enough to take this match.
\nPrediction: Kvitova in 2<\/em><\/p>\n