Roland Garros – Men’s Monday Preview

Juan-Ignacio Chela vs. Alejandro Falla

Few expected that Columbian Alejandro Falla and Argentine Juan Ignacio Chela will battle in the fourth round in 2011 Roland Garros with a chance to advance to the quarter-finals. "In the last few Grand Slams I was not going well and when I saw the picture, I thought I could reach the second week”, said the Argentine.

Juan-Ignacio Chela will take on Alejandro Falla for a place in the quarter-finals of the French Open.

Juan-Ignacio Chela has had to battle for his place in the fourth round of this year’s French Open, but should be keen to get back on court and fight for a place in the quarter-finals. The experienced Argentine has been playing well this season, and his performances here have demonstrated that he’s not necessarily past his prime.

Chela’s fourth round opponent will be Alejandro Falla of Columbia. Falla has defied expectations throughout the first week of this competition, beating the likes of Potito Starace, Lukasz Kubot and twentieth seed Florian Mayer. The world No. 120 has surprised a lot of people so far this week, and has certainly proved that he’s no pushover.

"It will be a tough game, very physical, I have to prepare for a long match. He is very experienced. … but I feel very confident in my game", said Falla.

Chela enters this match with a 1-1 head to head record against Falla, following two contests last season. Falla beat Chela on clay in Estoril, before Chela avenged the defeat with a crushing 6-0, 6-3 win on the hard courts of Toronto. Whilst Falla beat Chela on clay last year, the Argentine has greater experience at this level, and seems to be the favourite for Monday’s showdown.

David Ferrer vs. Gael Monfils

Monfils and Ferrer are locked in a battle that could go 5 sets. They had to stop on Sunday night but will resume on Monday afternoon.

Gaels Monfils, a former French Open semifinalist, and David Ferrer, a semifinalist from the Australian Open, had their fourth round match at the 2011 French Open suspended on Sunday evening. Monfils leads the match two sets to one however he is down a break in the fourth set love games to two.

They have been scheduled for Court Suzanne Lenglen on Monday as the second match on the court's schedule of play. They will follow the Alejandro Falla vs Juan Ignacio Chela match but in no event will Monfils and Ferrer resume before 12:30pm CET. The winner between Monfils and Ferrer will be into the quarterfinals at Roland Garros and will face Roger Federer in that round. Federer will be in for a tough match regardless of which player he faces however he can hope that they take a lot out of one another ahead of the quarters.

Federer himself advanced early on Sunday with a routine straight sets win over Stanislas Wawrinka.

Rafael Nadal vs. Ivan Ljubicic

Rafael Nadal will continue his quest for the French Open title with a fourth round matchup against Ivan Ljubicic.

Rafael Nadal was tested in his opening two matches in this year’s French Open, but snapped back into his best clay court form with a 6-1, 6-3, 6-0 drubbing of Antonio Veic in round three. The world No. 1 will be aiming to hold onto his place at the top of the rankings, and he’ll need to continue playing like this to aid his bid to stave off the threat of Novak Djokovic.

Nadal’s fourth round opponent will be the experienced Croat Ivan Ljubicic. Ljubicic excelled in week one of the competition, winning all of his three matches in straight sets. His opponents included No. 24 seed Sam Querrey and No. 16 seed Fernando Verdasco. Whilst he’s made a great start, he’s set for an uphill struggle against Nadal.

Nadal heads into this contest with a 6-2 match record against Ljubicic. Ljubicic recorded a win against Nadal last season at Indian Wells, but has never managed to overcome the Spaniard on clay. All three of the clay court matches between Nadal and Ljubicic ended in straight sets. Ljubicic will no doubt be striving to cause an upset on Monday, but Nadal is surely the favourite here.

The Croat looks confident against Nadal: “There is no question that his confidence is shake. And even the matches he’s winning, he’s not dominating as much as he used to be.”

Robin Soderling vs. Gilles Simon

Robin Soderling will take on Gilles Simon in what promises to be an exciting fourth round clash at Roland Garros.

Robin Soderling is once again shaping up to be a major challenger for this year’s French Open title, and was in solid form throughout the first week. The world No. 5 managed to earn a berth in the fourth round with a confident 6-1, 6-4, 6-3 victory against Leonardo Mayer of Argentina, and seems to be building up some much-needed momentum ahead of the latter stages.

Soderling will continue his bid for a maiden Slam title with a fourth round clash against eighteenth seed Gilles Simon. Simon also seems to be finding his form at just the right time, and he turned a few heads by beating tenth seed Mardy Fish in straight sets, 6-3, 6-4, 6-2. Following this superb result, the Frenchman will be keen to push on and cause an upset against Soderling.

Prior to Monday’s showdown, Soderling has a 4-2 head to head record against Simon. Soderling won the last two meetings between the pairing, and might just have a psychological edge here. That said, none of the matches between Soderling and Simon took place on clay, and past form might not provide an accurate guideline for what to expect on Monday.

Andy Murray vs. Viktor Troicki

Tricky match. Andy Murray faces a tough match on Monday against Viktor Troicki in the fourth round of the French Open.

Andy Murray has made a very encouraging start to this year’s French Open, and has reached round four without dropping a set. He produced an impressive performance in round three to overcome the threat of Michael Berrer (6-2, 6-3, 6-2), and on current form is beginning to look like a serious contender for the title this season at Roland Garros.

Murray will now take on Viktor Troicki on Monday for a place in the last eight. Troicki, the No. 15 seed, has also played well so far, and appears to be a threat to Murray’s title challenge. The Serb did well to see off No. 21 seed Alexandr Dolgopolov in round three, but will need to maintain his form to stand a chance against the world No. 4.

"I'll rest it for as long as possible during the day and come to Roland Garros late in the afternoon. All being well, I'll be fit to face Troicki", said Murray.

Murray has never previously met Troicki on clay, but should be feeling confident here given that he has a 3-0 head to head record against him. The Scot has won all three of his matches against the world No. 15 in straight sets, and seems likely to get the upper hand again on Monday.