Is this officially the last day of the fortnight when we dedicate a paragraph of our daily program to the French people still in contention at Roland-Garros? We fear being entitled to a big yes this Thursday, when only Océane Dodin, Diane Parry and Arthur Rinderknech remain. All three represent the only chances of a third round in French tennis the day after a disastrous Wednesday. Come on, for lack of tricolors at the top, we will present to you the main challenges of this day, as well as the curiosities.
It must be recognized, it is perhaps the most complicated day of this 122nd Roland-Garros to ignite on a poster. The biggest favorites (Djokovic-Alcaraz) played on Wednesday, the most exciting Frenchmen (Monfils-Pouille-Van Assche and even Moutet) have all just disappeared from the table, so it’s tricky to be hyped for a match. Come on, let’s get started, whoever says hype almost necessarily says this match that we could almost have programmed on the junior table between Diane Parry and Mirra Andreeva. At 20, Diane Parry (79th player in the world) is almost like an adventurer on the professional circuit compared to her opponent.
Because the promising Russian was born in 2007, TWO THOUSAND SEVEN, and yes, you are not dreaming. The experienced American Alison Riske (32 years old and 85th in the WTA rankings) got to know this 16-year-old tornado on Tuesday, which landed her an incredible 6-2, 6-1 in the first round of Roland-Garros. The current 143rd player in the world inevitably piques our curiosity, especially since she has a “big” sister (Erika, 18) who had participated in the qualifications for the Parisian Grand Slam. And opposite, we want to see Diane Parry again, who has a really nice offensive game and who managed the event that was her first round well.
The main favorites of the tournament plant us this Thursday, between Alcaraz and Djokovic who surveyed the Central on Wednesday, but also Holger Rune (number 6 at the ATP) who benefits from the Gaël Monfils package. We still spontaneously think of the Polish Iga Swiatek (against the American Claire Liu), impressive world number one and defending champion, We will also find the Norwegian Casper Ruud (number 4), totally under-mediatized in France but capable to defeat anyone. At the opening of the Phippe-Chatrier at 11:45 am, he will face the Italian Giulio Zeppieri. Other seeded players (besides Zverev), Elena Rybakina (number 4) and Jannik Sinner (number 8) will have a shot to play to get closer to the second week.
Do you remember, from Sunday to Wednesday, when we systematically wondered if we could bring in the names of all the French people involved in Roland? This problem is so outdated that we can list the names of the last three survivors of this final table. There is obviously Diane Parry, who we talked about earlier for her match against Mirra Andreeva on the Simonne-Mathieu. But also Océane Dodin, who will have the honors of the Central against Ons Jabeur (world number 7). Richard Gasquet’s faller on Tuesday, Arthur Rinderknech will end the day at Lenglen against a top seed, the American Taylor Fritz (number 9).
No worries, it climbs, it climbs, potentially up to 26 degrees. It will still be necessary to take into account the inexorable wind, with gusts of up to 40 km/h.
Like all the other categories, it’s complicated to project yourself onto a poster, as it lacks enticing shocks. We decided to put our focus on the match between Tommy Paul and Nicolas Jarry. If the American is seeded, we say that the Chilean (unknown) has every chance this Thursday.