Three Things to Watch Out for on French Open’s Mega Wednesday

Top seeds Andy Murray, Novak Djokovic, Stan Wawrinka and Rafael Nadal play the French Open men’s singles quarters.

Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray play in the French Open’s quarter-final on Wednesday. (Photo: AP)

• Rafael Nadal plays fellow countryman Pablo Carreno Busta and Dominic Thiem faces Novak Djokovic at 2.30 pm IST in the men’s singles quarter-final.
  
  
• Stan Wawrinka faces Marin Cilic, while Kei Nishikori takes on Andy Murray at 6.45 pm IST.
  
  
• In the women’s singles quarters, Simona Halep faces Elina Svitolina and Caroline Garcia takes on Karolina Pliskova at 5.30 pm IST.
  

While all the familiar names have been knocked out in the French Open women's draw, the usual suspects have reached the quarter-finals of the men’s tournament – Andy Murray, Novak Djokovic, Stan Wawrinka and, of course, Rafael Nadal.

There's three-time major champion and last year's runner-up, Number 1 seed Murray and Number 3 Wawrinka on the top half of the bracket. On the bottom half, Number 2 Djokovic, the defending champion, and Number 4 Nadal, seeking a record-extending 10th title in Paris, would set up a showdown in the semi-finals.

Surprisingly, none of the eight players left in the women’s draw have ever won a Grand Slam tournament.

Three of the winners in women's fourth-round action on Monday – Number 2 Karolina Pliskova, Number 3 Simona Halep and Number 5 Elina Svitolina – are however, highly seeded.

Here are three things to watch out for on day 11 of the French Open.

Can Pliskova Slide Into the Last Four?

World number three Karolina Pliskova takes on Caroline Garcia. (Photo: AP)

With Kristina Mladenovic out of the picture, Caroline Garcia is the only French representative left in the singles' draws, and she has previously beaten her quarter-final opponent, world number three Karolina Pliskova, in their only match on clay.

Pliskova's game does not seem best suited to the slower surface – the Czech's best grand slam result was reaching the final at the US Open last year and she had never previously made it past the second round at Roland Garros.

Will Nishikori Find the Key to Beat Murray?

Japan’s Kei Nishikori (in picture) takes on Andy Murray. (Photo: AP)

Japan's Kei Nishikori has a 2-8 record against his quarter-final opponent Andy Murray, the world number one, who beat him 6-3 6-4 in their only meeting on clay in 2015.

Nishikori will need to fully focus after conceding two 'bagels' in the two previous rounds.

How Many Games Can Thiem Win Against Djokovic?

Austrian sixth seed Dominic Thiem plays Novak Djokovic. (Photo: AP)

Austrian sixth seed Dominic Thiem has lost all five of his previous meetings against Novak Djokovic.

The last time they played, Serb Djokovic won 6-1 6-0 in the Italian Open semi-finals.

(With inputs from AP and Reuters)