Wawrinka and Ruud advance on Day 4, Isner sent packing by Korda
All of the men’s singles match updates from Day 4 of the French Open at Roland-Garros. Stan Wawrinka and Sebastian Korda were among the early winners on Wednesday.
The results we expected
Having unceremoniously dumped the returning Andy Murray out in the opening round, former Roland-Garros champion Stan Wawrinka was again in cruise control against Germany’s Dominik Koepfer. That was until the third set, which he dropped before recovering to win 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 6-1.
Stan. The. Man.
2015 Champion @stanwawrinka into the third round in Paris 6-3 6-2 3-6 6-1 over Koepfer.#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/n0OGqQzhKY
— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) September 30, 2020
Another champion, a man who has won the tournament just a few times, is Rafael Nadal. Aiming for an incredible 13th French Open title, the Spaniard remained on course by sweeping aside the challenge of Mackenzie McDonald 6-1, 6-0, 6-3.
It was always going to be an uphill struggle for McDonald, but another American who fared better was Taylor Fritz. The 27th seed encountered few problems while dispatching Radu Albot 6-3, 6-2, 6-4.
One more American took the court on Wednesday and like McDonald was a massive underdog. Jack Sock had to face US Open champion, two-time French Open runner-up, and No 3 seed Dominic Thiem. Unsurprisingly, Thiem prevailed in straight sets, 6-1, 6-3, 7-6(6).
Lorenzo Giustino survived a five-set marathon in the first round against Corentin Moutet, one that lasted more than six hours. As expected, the Italian had little left in the tank with which to face Diego Schwartzman. A runner-up at the Rome Masters, Schwartzman rolled over Giustino 6-1, 7-5, 6-0.
You're going to have to try a lot harder than that if you want to take @RafaelNadal by surprise at #RolandGarros
🇫🇷 Watch McDonald v Nadal at #RG20 LIVE
📺 Eurosport 1
📱💻 Uninterrupted coverage: https://t.co/uzT86Y4Hgs pic.twitter.com/ewRFR28lLe— Eurosport (@eurosport) September 30, 2020
The surprises of the day
No 21 John Isner possesses the serve and groundstrokes that would suggest he can hit through these conditions, but clay has never been his favourite surface. Be that as it may, it was perhaps something of a surprise that he was easily beaten by Sebastian Korda, son of former Australian Open champion Petr, via a 6-4, 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 decision.
N0 23 Benoit Paire also crashed out, although is hardly a shock given how his summer progressed. The Frenchman went down to Federico Coria 7-6(3), 4-6, 6-3, 6-1.
The hard-fought battles of the day
In an utterly bizarre scoreline, No 28 Casper Ruud held off Tommy Paul 6-1, 1-6, 6-3, 1-6, 6-3. Ruud, a Rome semi-finalist, will face Thiem in the third round.
Finally Ruud beats Paul in five sets. Will meet Thiem in round 3. Long live the Best of 5. pic.twitter.com/LnlUG8UdLG
— Del🇪🇺 (@Stroppa_Del) September 30, 2020
- Also read: Roland Garros day 3 recap
- Also read: Tsitsipas and Rublev recover from two sets down
- Also read: Djokovic sounds title warning
- Also read: Covid-19, rain, cold, heavy balls: A Roland-Garros like no other
