By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Tuesday May 24, 2022
Day 3 of Roland-Garros will mark the end of the first round (weather permitting) and contains plenty of mouthwatering matchups. Here’s what will be watching on Tuesday in Paris.
See the full Day 3 Order of Play Here
Tsitsipas faces Musetti in Popcorn Battle
Head-to-Head: Tsitsipas Leads 2-0
When the draw came out, most ticketed this matchup as one of the most watchable of the first round. So did the tournamen’t organizers as they placed it in the night session on Court Phillipe- Chatrier.
It will be an important contest for the No.4 seed. If he can clear the Musetti hurdle he will be in good position in the lower half of the draw (without Djokovic, Nadal and Alcaraz). But Musetti is a wizard on clay who reached the round of 16 last year on his debut, and took two sets from Novak Djokovic before bowing out.
Tsitsipas is a contender for the title here in Paris, and he can set the tone with a strong victory on Monday.
Tsonga’s Last Stand?
Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga will call it a career at the end of Roland-Garros. The end could indeed be nigh, as the legendary Frenchman has drawn No.8-seeded Casper Ruud, a clay-court guru fresh off his seventh career title in Geneva, in his first-round match.
Win or lose, it will be incredible to take in the atmospher on Court Philippe-Chatrier – Tsonga is beloved the world round, but especially in France.
Taylor Townsend Back in the Mix as a Mom
American Taylor Townsend gave birth to a baby boy last April. This spring the new mother is back on the job, and she will play her first Grand Slam match since becoming a mom on Monday when she takes to Court Suzanne Lenglen to face France’s Caroline Garcia. Townsend has played three events at the ITF level since her comeback from maternity leave started.
Shapovalov and Rune Showdown
Out on Court No.12 Denis Shapovalov and Holger Rune will play the 11 AM early bird. Shapovalov will be the favorite but Rune is the player that comes in riding the hotter hand. The 19-year-old won the title in Munich on his birthday late in April and has climbed into the top-40. He’s looking more and more like the real deal, particularly on clay, and could give Shapovalov serious problems if the Canadian on his game.