Popcorn matches of Round 3

As 32 players in each draw get whittled down to 16, make sure you make these matches appointment viewing. 

Carlos Alcaraz vs Sebastian Korda

This night-session affair on Court Phillipe-Chatrier has the potential to bring the fireworks. Alcaraz will be looking to make a statement after dropping an unexpected set against Dutch qualifier Jesper de Jong in the second round, but Korda doesn’t mind a big stage against a big name – he upset defending finalist Daniil Medvedev in the third round of the 2023 Australian Open en route to his best Grand Slam showing.

What’s more, his only win against Alcaraz came on clay.  

Aryna Sabalenka vs Paula Badosa

Just call this one the ‘bestie battle.’ Good buddies Badosa, a former world No.2, and Sabalenka, the current world No.2, have gone so far as to dub themselves “soulmates,” but they’ll be putting that relationship aside when they duel for a spot in the fourth round.

A resurgent (and, more importantly after her last 12 months, seemingly fully fit) Badosa has battled through a pair of three-setters to reach this round, while Sabalenka has dropped just seven games in four sets played. Sabalenka has won four of their six meetings, including both of this year's matches. 

Ons Jabeur vs. Leylah Fernandez

Though three-time Grand Slam finalist Jabeur has never lost to 2021 US Open runner-up Fernandez, all three of their previous meetings have gone three sets, including a 7-5, 2-6, 6-4 match on clay in Madrid earlier this spring, and there’s no reason to believe that this one, too, won’t be a long one.

While she hasn’t quite recaptured that NYC magic, Fernandez’s second-deepest Grand Slam run came in Paris two years ago, where she reached the quarter-finals. Might the fourth time be the charm for the Canadian in this match-up?

Ben Shelton vs Felix Auger-Aliassime

There’s a lot at stake in the first match between these two young stars. Shelton is looking to book a spot in the second week of a major for the third time in his last six played, while Auger-Aliassime hasn’t made the fourth round at one of the big ones in more than a year.

While clay, likely, wouldn’t have been their choice for a favourite surface prior to this spring, they’ve both had a standout result on the surface in 2024: Shelton won his second career ATP singles title in Houston, while Auger-Aliassime made his first Masters 1000 final in Madrid. 

Novak Djokovic vs Lorenzo Musetti

Three years ago, a teenaged Musetti had top-seeded Djokovic on the ropes at Roland-Garros as he led their fourth-round match by two sets to love before losing by retirement in the fifth set.

The Serb is the top seed again in this rematch, but a lot has changed for the Italian since then: he broke the top 20 last year, and this year, became a father.

He hasn’t been too troubled in straight-sets wins over Daniel Galan and Gael Monfils so far in Paris. Djokovic, meanwhile, looked much more himself in a dominant second-round win on Thursday. 

Madison Keys vs Emma Navarro

This all-American affair has implications outside this Roland-Garros tournament as it could officially decide who qualifies in the fourth and final spot to represent the USA at the Paris Olympics later this summer.

Navarro is currently on the outside looking in at present and will need an incredibly deep run in Paris to vault herself into the final spot, but a win against the former Roland-Garros semi-finalist would, mathematically, keep her in contention.

They split two matches last year and a maiden Week 2 appearance at a major is also at stake for Navarro.

Mirra Andreeva vs Peyton Stearns:

Former college champion Stearns, who won her first career WTA singles title last week in Rabat ahead of Roland-Garros, has stretched her winning streak to seven matches with two wins in Paris, including a 7-5, 6-2 upset of No.10 Daria Kasatkina, who beat her 6-1, 6-0 at Roland-Garros last year.

On the other side of the net is 17-year-old 2023 WTA Newcomer of the Year Andreeva, who toppled former No.1 Victoria Azarenka in the last second-round match to finish as the clock struck 1 a.m. on Friday morning and is through to the third round of Roland-Garros for the second year in a row.

Daniil Medvedev vs Tomas Machac

Machac, 23, has scored several notable milestones in 2024: a first top 20 win against Frances Tiafoe at the Australian Open; a first top 10 win against Andrey Rublev in Miami; and a stunning triumph against world No.1 Novak Djokovic in Geneva just prior to Roland-Garros en route to making his first career ATP singles final.

Can he add a win against the fifth seed to reach the fourth round of a Grand Slam for the first time?