Three to See on TC Plus: Nadal, Serena—and Sharapova vs. Pliskova

Before each day's play begins in Paris, we'll preview three must-see matches that you'll find on Tennis Channel Plus. Tennis Channel Plus features up to 10 courts of live action from Roland Garros beginning Sunday, May 27 at 5:00am ET. Catch up and watch all your favorite stars anytime, on-demand, with Tennis Channel Plus.

To subscribe to Tennis Channel Plus, go to BuyTCPlus.com

It’s hard to remember now, but the Nadal era at Roland Garros essentially began with his third-round win over Gasquet here in 2005. Up until that match, it had been an open question as to which of these two junior rivals was the heir to the French Open throne. Thirteen years later, as they get set to meet in another third-rounder, we’ve long known the answer. Nadal has won 10 titles here, while Gasquet has reached one quarterfinal in 14 tries at his home Slam.

Even worse for the Frenchman, he has yet to beat Nadal in 15 attempts as a pro; in fact, he’s lost 23 straight sets to him dating back to 2008. So while Gasquet will have the crowd behind him, and will likely rouse them with a few glorious backhand winners, it’s impossible to pick him to win. Winner: Nadal

WATCH—Match point from Nadal's win over Guido Pella in Roland Garros:

“Well, there is also Sharapova,” Sharapova snapped at a reporter who suggested that Pliskova’s name alone might be enough to earn them an assignment in Court Philippe Chatrier. She’s not wrong; while Pliskova reached the semis here last year, Sharapova is a two-time champion. They’ve faced off just once, in Fed Cup three years ago, a match that Sharapova won in straight sets.

It’s too bad they’re meeting so early at Roland Garros, because both enter this third-rounder in good form: Pliskova won the title in Stuttgart and reached the semis in Madrid; Sharapova made the semis in Rome. Each hits hard, flat, and with little margin, and perhaps the only predictable element in a match between them on clay is that it will involve peaks and valleys from both players over the course of three sets.

Is Sharapova ready to play top-tier tennis on a big stage again? Is Pliskova ready to face down a player of Sharapova’s stature? Winner: Pliskova

The 36-year-old American and the 29-year-old German have been on tour together for more than a decade, but they’ve faced each other just twice, way back in 2010 and 2011. Serena, as you would expect, won both of those meetings in straight sets; the match they played at the French Open in 2010 was a 6-1, 6-1 blowout.

But as we know, neither Serena nor Goerges is the same player she was then, or even as recently as two years ago. While Serena was on the sidelines over the last 18 months, Goerges had the best run of her career, lifting her ranking to No. 14 and reaching finals on multiple surfaces. The Slams, however, have been a different story; she’s been playing them since 2007, and has yet to make it past the fourth round even once. If Goerges feels the pressure at the majors, how much is she going to feel playing Serena at one of them? Winner: S. Williams

—Tennis Channel Plus features up to 10 courts of live action from Roland Garros beginning Sunday, May 27 at 5:00am ET.

—Catch up and watch all your favorite stars anytime on-demand with Tennis Channel Plus.

(The availability of matches or events on TC Plus is subject to change.)