French Open predictions and tennis betting tips: Nadal may have to dig deep

Free tennis tips, best bets and analysis for day 11 of the French Open at Roland Garros, Paris on Wednesday.

Where to watch

ITV4 & Eurosport, from 11am, Wednesday

Best bets

Diego Schwartzman +9.5 games v Rafael Nadal
1pt 7-10 Coral, Ladbrokes

Tiebreak in Matteo Berrettini v Novak Djokovic
1pt 6-5BoyleSports

Barbora Krejcikova to beat Cori Gauff
1pt Evs bet365

Iga Swiatek to beat Maria Sakkari 2-0
1pt 4-6 Coral, Ladbrokes

Preview

Rafael Nadal v Diego Schwartzman

The element of surprise is well and truly gone for Jannik Sinner on clay and Rafael Nadal eased past the Italian 7-5 6-3 6-0 in the last 16 of the French Open on Monday.

But while Nadal's game is, as usual, in fine order on Roland Garros's red terrain, the 13-time champion may find Diego Schwartzman a handful in their Paris quarter-final rumble.

Nadal leads the Argentinian 10-1 in their personal series, which includes wins at Roland Garros in 2018 (4-6 6-3 6-2 6-2) and last year (6-3 6-3 7-6).

But we may be witnessing a different approach from Schwartzman this year. He was below par in the lead-up to the French Open, winning just two of seven clay outings, but in Paris the world number ten has looked as if there is barely anything amiss with his game.

Schwartzman looks refreshed and confident after spending less time on court in recent months and, with Nadal having recently turned 35, it's possible that their third meeting in this Grand Slam event could be closer than their previous ones.

The pocket rocket gets a handicap start of 9.5 games and that could be of interest as we could well see nip-and-tuck stuff in the early sets.

Novak Djokovic v Matteo Berrettini

Novak Djokovic had an almighty scare when falling two sets down to young Italian Lorenzo Musetti in the last 16 of the French Open before turning the match on its head.

The world number one and top seed next meets Musetti's higher-ranked compatriot Matteo Berrettini, who will be well rested after receiving a fourth-round walkover when Roger Federer withdrew from the tournament.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the oddsmakers have eased Djokovic's supremacy over Berrettini to 6.5 games after the Serb's scare on Monday.

But while backing the 25-year-old Roman to win at least a set can definitely be considered, wouldn't it be typical of Djokovic to return to the straight-sets demolition that we saw from him in the opening three rounds?

It's possible that Djokovic's clay prowess may slightly be on the wane, though, and Berrettini ought to be ready for anything after his unscheduled rest, so rather than back the outsider to win a set have a punt instead on this competitive-looking clash witnessing at least one tiebreak.

Cori Gauff v Barbora Krejcikova

Barbora Krejcikova's 6-2 6-0 mauling of Sloane Stephens was one of the performances of the tournament, the Czech winning 82 per cent of her first serves and 60 of the 95 points contested.

It's all happening for Krejcikova this season and the fun may not stop yet because with stats like that, she could pose big problems for top US youngster Gauff.

The 17-year-old has yet to drop a set in the singles and it's surely only a matter of time before the remarkable Gauff wins a Grand Slam title of her own. But the Atlanta native may get overpowered by Krejcikova, 25, if the unseeded upstart reproduces the form she showed in defeating Ekaterina Alexandrova, fifth seed Elina Svitolina and Stephens.

Maria Sakkari v Iga Swiatek

Iga Swiatek did well to defeat promising Ukrainian 18-year-old Marta Kostyuk 6-3 6-4 under the lights on Court Philippe Chatrier on Monday evening, when the defending champion showed her temperament is still sound under pressure.

The Pole, 20, has been busy in the singles and doubles events and while her next opponent Maria Sakkari is in fine form herself, the Greek 25-year-old may be no tougher to defeat than Kostyuk, even though this is their first competitive meeting.

Backing Swiatek to successfully concede 4.5 games on the handicap is an option but, after she fought back from a break down in the first set against Kostyuk, it may be wiser to simply punt the favourite to win in straight sets.

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