By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Tuesday, May 24, 2022

The first round is finally complete in Paris, and on Wednesday the second-round will kick off in earnest, with King of Clay Rafael Nadal set for the night session, along with Novak Djokovic, Bianca Andreescu and Coco Gauff.



Here's the full Day 4 Order of Play

Here’s what we’ll be watching:

Top Half Aims for Round Three

Defending champion Novak Djokovic will take on Alex Molcan on Court Suzanne-Lenglen, while Rafael Nadal takes the night session against enigmatic Corentin Moutet on Court Phillipe-Chatrier. Over on Simonne-Mathieu, Carlos Alcaraz will face Albert-Ramos Vinolas.

We’ve already seen each player move through round one on straight sets. Things could be more difficult for all three favourites on Tuesday. Djokovic faces the most interesting challenge, against World No.38 Molcan, who is now coached by his former coach Marian Vajda.

Alcaraz will look to reach the third round for the second time against Ramos-Vinolas, whom he has defeated twice in two meetings, both on clay.

With Krejcikova out, Who Will Step Up?

Barbora Krejcikova was ousted on Day 2, becoming the third woman to fall in the first round of her title defense in Open Era history. Now the question becomes: who will step up to take charge in the lower half?

We’ll give you three names to look out for: [18] Coco Gauff, [27] Amanda Anisimova and [4] Maria Sakkari.

Gauff, a quarterfinalist last year, will face Alison Van Uytvanck on Court Simonne-Mathieu. The American has been angling for a breakthrough for a while, and it feels like Paris could be the perfect place.

Anisimova, who took out Naomi Osaka in her first-round match, faces Donna Vekic on Court No.7. The former semi-finalist is second on the WTA Tour in terms of clay-court wins in 2022, with 11.

Sakkari, a semi-finalist last year, plays Karolina Muchova on Court Suzanne-Lenglen.

We’ll know a lot more about the lower half after tomorrow.

Bencic v Andreescu - US Open Rematch

In a rematch of the 2019 US Open final, Canada’s Bianca Andreescu will take on Belinda Bencic, third up on Court Philippe-Chatrier. It was Andreescu who prevailed in 2019, and went on to win the title, 7-6(3), 7-5. If the Canadian can prevail it would be a big step for her, and mark a first trip to the third round in Paris.

“I definitely feel more confident this year,” Andreescu said before the tournament, then referring to her five-month hiatus, which ended in mid-April. “Even though I know I had that break, I'm feeling really good physically as well. I'm continuing to do more things in the gym, even during tournaments, and that in turn also gives me confidence because I feel very fit. “All of that at the end of the day I think, with the confidence, will really help me on the court.”