Delpo, it seems, is the guy you want to end your career against. At the US Open in 2012, Andy Roddick was happy to be sent into retirement by the gentle-giant Argentine, and the same appeared to be true on Tuesday at Roland Garros, when Nicolas Mahut played what may be his last singles match, and finished it in a warm embrace with Delpo. Now it could be Benneteau’s turn to face the kindly reaper.
Benneteau is 36, and has been on a sort of unofficial farewell tour for much of the last year. If Roland Garros isn’t his last tournament, it’s going to be one of them. Considering his opponent, this match could make the end of the line. Del Potro is 2-0 against Benneteau, and his form has been very good for most of 2018—he’s one guy who may even believe he has a chance to knock off Rafael Nadal here. Whatever happens, whoever wins, there will almost certainly be a grand send-off from the Chatrier crowd, and the tears that come with it. Winner: Del Potro
As well as Serena competed in her first-round win, she also benefitted from some timely errors by her opponent, Kristyna Pliskova. Up 3-0 in the first-set tiebreaker, the Czech suddenly couldn’t keep a ball in the court. Will Serena get those kinds of donations from Barty, who is the 17th seed and who plays a more athletic, more-topspin-heavy—and thus safer—brand of baseline tennis than Pliskova?
Serena won her only meeting with Barty, at the 2014 Australian Open; obviously Barty is a very different player now, and Serena will still be in shake-the-rust-off mode on Thursday. But Serena looked as determined as ever to win her first match; it’s hard to imagine she’ll be any different in her second. That’s usually enough to get her through. Winner: S. Williams
