French Open Daily: Day 4

Author:
Bryan Armen Graham
Publish date:
May 25, 2011

Novak Djokovic advanced to the third round and kept his winning streak alive Wednesday with an easy win over Romania's Victor Hanescu. (AP)

What's Happening Thursday

The second round finishes up. Tennis Channel's live coverage runs from 5 a.m. ET until noon. ESPN2 continues with live and same-day action from 12 until 6:30 p.m. ET. (Clip and save the complete TV schedule.)

No. 1 Rafael Nadal, No. 4 Andy Murray, No. 5 Robin Soderling, No. 2 Kim Clijsters, No. 6 Li Na and No. 7 Maria Sharapova are all in action, hoping to punch their tickets to the Round of 32.

Other key matches to watch on Thursday include:

• Zheng Jie vs. No. 9 Petra Kvitova (Court 1, 5 a.m. ET): The 21-year-old Kvitova is a trendy sleeper pick at Roland Garros, with at least one pundit fancying her chances to go all the way. And while Zheng may not be playing on her preferred surface, the two-time Grand Slam semifinalist is more than capable of pulling off the upset.

• No. 24 Sam Querrey vs. Ivan Ljubicic (Court 7, 5 a.m. ET): Fresh off his first-ever win at Roland Garros in five career appearances, the SoCal-born Querrey is favored to make the third round. Standing in his way is the ageless Ljubicic, whose booming serve and deceptively good movement could give the American trouble.

• No. 18 Gilles Simon vs. Jeremy Chardy (Court Philippe Chatrier, fourth match): The crowd should be abuzz for the late-afternoon clash between two well-known Frenchmen. Simon is back in the Top 20 -- having once climbed as high as No. 6 -- while Chardy is a former Wimbledon boys' champion whose No. 54 ranking isn't an accurate reflection of his talent.

The complete order of play for Day 5 can be found here.

What Happened Wednesday

Another beautiful day on the grounds, with temperatures peaking at 79 degrees.

• Djokovic, Federer march onward. The No. 2 and No. 3 seeds coasted to straight-sets victories to book their spots in the third round.

• Mattek-Sands wins, surpasses Venus in rankings. American Bethanie Mattek-Sands advanced to the third round with a three-set victory over compatriot Vavara Lepchenko. With the win, the Gaga-inspired fashionista will move ahead of Venus Williams in the rankings.

• Delpo sets up Djoker showdown. 2009 U.S. Open champion Juan Martin del Potro defeated Blaz Kavcic to set up a third-round showdown with Rafael Nadal, easily the most anticipated matchup of the Round of 32.

• Other seeded players stay alive. No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki won her second-round match. As did No. 3 Vera Zvonareva, No. 5 Francesca Schiavone, No. 8 Sam Stosur, No. 10 Jelena Jankovic, No. 11 Marion Bartoli, No. 13 Svetlana Kuznetsova, No. 14 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, No. 17 Julia Goerges, No. 28 Daniela Hantuchova, No. 29 Peng Shuai. Men's seeded winners included

Paris Clicks

On of England's most promising juniors will miss next week's French Open boys' tournament because (wait for it) his dad forgot to enter him on time ... Speaking of Great British Hopes, Nick Bollettieri is high on Heather Watson ... Italian outfitter Sergio Tacchini really hit the jackpot with the Djoker, huh? ... Roger Federer is playing invisible man at Roland Garros ... Del Potro is focusing on the present rather than comparing his level of play to where it was before 2010.

Photo of the Day

Caroline Wozniacki's shoes are seen near her shadow as she plays against Aleksandra Wozniak (from SI.com's Best Shots from Day 4 at the French Open).

Go Figure

41 ... Consecutive matches won by Novak Djokovic, matching Roger Federer's career-best streak.

42-0 ... Career record of Federer in the second round of Grand Slams after Wednesday's victory.

1 ... Number of left-handers in the WTA Top 30: Petra Kvitova, who faces Zheng Jie on Thursday. (The last southpaw to win the women's title at Roland Garros was Monica Seles in 1992.)