The big Semi Final that most would have anticipated on the women's side of the French Open tournament has been set on Day 10 and the winner of that match between Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek will go into Saturday's Final as the favourite to win the second Grand Slam of the season.
At the time of writing, neither men's Quarter Final match from Day 10 has been completed, but the thoughts already turn to the other half of the draws.
We have the top Quarter Final of the Round set to round out the day on Wednesday as the tournament ticks into the final five days and my thoughts on three of the four Quarter Final matches to be played on Day 11 can be read below.
Madison Keys + 3.5 games v Coco Gauff: Winning the Australian Open earlier this year came as a surprise, despite the obvious qualities that Madison Keys has shown throughout her career. However, it felt her best days were now behind her and that winning a Grand Slam would be something that she missed out on.
Instead Madison Keys stunned everyone to take the title in Melbourne, and she is perhaps having an even more surprising push to take the title at Roland Garros.
In 2018 and 2019, Madison Keys did reach the Semi Final and Quarter Final respectively at the French Open so she has previous on the clay courts, but there has been just one Fourth Round run since then. A Quarter Final run at Madrid was the outlier in the build up to the French Open, but that is a tournament where you perhaps get the least form guide for the second Grand Slam of the season due to the unique conditions at the event.
The serve has been key for Keys, pardon the pun, at the French Open with at least 69% of points won behind the delivery and that is going to be a big factor in determining the outcome of this Quarter Final. Madison Keys will be well aware that she is going to have to serve well against Madrid Runner Up Coco Gauff, who has been returning really well in the tournament as she looks to add to the US Open title she has won previously.
Winning the title in New York City is the clear highlight of the career so far, but Coco Gauff's most consistent Grand Slam results have been earned in Paris- this is the fifth year in a row she has reached the Quarter Final at Roland Garros, although half of those previous runs have ended in this Round.
Coco Gauff is still having some issues with the serve, but she has won at least 60% of points played behind this shot in three of the four wins to move through the draw. The real advantage Coco Gauff has had over her opponents has been on the return of serve with at least 53% of return points won in each of the previous matches in the tournament and at least five breaks of serve per Round.
Of course it has to be noted that the Madison Keys serve is the best that Coco Gauff will have faced so far in the tournament, but the higher Ranked American will be confident in being able to put the Australian Open Champion under pressure.
It is Madison Keys who leads the head to head and the only previous clay court match between the two was won by Keys in Madrid last year.
This is expected to be another close fought contest though and the best approach may be backing Madison Keys with the start on the game handicap to at least keep this competitive, especially as she has a real opportunity to win this one outright.
Mirra Andreeva - 5.5 games v Lois Boisson: The French Open has been a disappointing event for those players that the public may have expected to see at the business end of the tournament, but Lois Boisson has surprised by making full use of her Wild Card to reach the Quarter Final.
Twelve months ago, Lois Boisson suffered an ACL injury on the eve of the French Open, which meant missing out on using her Wild Card and then spending several months on the sidelines rehabbing. She only returned in February and has been playing outside of the main WTA Tour in a bid to get up to match sharpness and also rebuild the Ranking points, which have seen her slip to World Number 361 as the French Open started.
Her peak World Ranking was Number 152 thirteen months ago, but Lois Boisson is already guaranteed to have a higher number at the end of the tournament.
Full credit has to be given to the 22 year old having beaten two Seeds in the four wins in Paris and both times having to do so in a final set decider to underline the grit and determination Lois Boisson has shown over the last year.
This is going to feel like another step up as she prepares to take on a younger player, but one who has shown massive potential and already sits inside the top ten of the World Rankings. Mirra Andreeva has every chance of finishing this tournament as a top four player, and her experience of reaching the French Open Semi Final last year will mean she should be able to handle the occasion.
Of course the atmosphere is going to be one in which the underdog is going to be receiving so much more support, but Andreeva will be happy to be going out second on Wednesday, which means the teenager can have a little more rest having admitted that she hates being first up.
The lower Ranked player has spent considerable more time on the court than Mirra Andreeva, which is a potential factor, and there have been signs that the Lois Boisson serve is beginning to become a vulnerability. As accumulated fatigue builds up, that serve is going to be come more and more appealing for Mirra Andreeva to attack and that may put the underdog in some pressurised spots.
Lois Boisson has continued to do enough on the return to stay in matches and that is going to be key for her here, but the feeling is that Mirra Andreeva is still playing at a level that may be tough for the World Number 361 to reach having invested so much into the tournament already.
Covering this handicap mark will not be easy, but the Mirra Andreeva level may see her pull away as the match develops and she may find the breaks needed to secure a relatively strong win on the scoreboard.
Alexander Zverev-Novak Djokovic over 39.5 games: As has been the case in recent years since the French Open added a Night Session to the schedule and sold the rights to that individually, there have been criticisms of the organisers for not placing a women's match in the 'limelight'.
It would be a complete surprise to all if people expected anything other than Alexander Zverev vs Novak Djokovic to have that scheduling spot on Day 11 at the French Open in what is the stand out Quarter Final of the last two days.
These two players faced off at the Australian Open Semi Final earlier in the year, but the match finished prematurely when Novak Djokovic was unable to play through an injury having dropped the first set. Last year, Djokovic's run at the French Open was ended in the Quarter Final due to another injury, but he did win the Olympic Gold here and the former World Number 1 looks to be peaking at the right time.
This is the SIXTEENTH year in a row that Novak Djokovic has at least made the Quarter Final at the French Open, which is an incredible achievement from a player who has had an incredible career. Two of the last four runs have ended without a Semi Final appearance, but the other two have finished with Djokovic lifting the trophy and his level over the last two Rounds will give him a lot of confidence.
Of course this is also a tournament in which Alexander Zverev has thrived and he will still be thinking about twelve months ago when leading Carlos Alcaraz in the Final. This has been the Grand Slam in which Alexander Zverev has played his most consistent tennis and he will be chasing a Semi Final spot for the fifth year in a row when taking the court on Wednesday.
He benefited from an early ending to his Fourth Round win, while Zverev has been producing at a consistently strong level as he has eased his way through the draw. Other players have taken the headlines, but that will not concern the World Number 3, even as he sits in the tougher half of the French Open draw.
The serve will be key for Alexander Zverev and it has been a strong weapon for him in this tournament- it has definitely felt like a more consistent shot for Zverev than Novak Djokovic's has felt for the former World Number 1 and it is imperative that the slight underdog serves well.
Both have produced solid returning numbers and that should make for a very good Quarter Final and one that goes potentially long, and certainly long enough to cover the total game line set.
Despite both being in the top ten of the World Rankings in recent years, Alexander Zverev and Novak Djokovic have missed one another at tournaments. This is only the third meeting since November 2021, which is pretty remarkable, and one of the previous two ended in Melbourne after just one set had been played.
They have met in the French Open Quarter Final before, in 2019, and it was Novak Djokovic who was a very comfortable winner on that day. However, six years later, this one has all of the hallmarks of being a much more competitive contest and the expectation is that we will see at least four sets, which should set the match on the road to surpass the total games line if Zverev and Djokovic continue to play to the level they have been as the tournament has progressed.
MY PICKS: Madison Keys + 3.5 Games
Mirra Andreeva - 5.5 Games
Alexander Zverev-Novak Djokovic Over 39.5 Games
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