Dancing into the second week

Good morning. You’re reading the 20th edition of This Week in Tennis! Huge thanks to everyone who has been on the journey so far. Your support and feedback have been incredible. If you could share this edition with a friend or family member, I would be super grateful 🙏 Now let’s jump in.

— Daniel

ATP

Good luck charm

We’re past the halfway point at Roland Garros. Here are a few top stories to know:

• Alex de Minaur became the first Australian to make the quarter finals of Roland Garros since Lleyton Hewitt did in 2004. The bigger story? He found his biggest super fan and now good luck charm Paul (pictured above). De Minaur noticed Paul’s die-hard cheering in his third round match, and invited him back to help him get the win against Daniil Medvedev in the next round.

• Grigor Dimitrov is through to the quarter finals of Roland Garros for the first time in his career. He had made it to the quarters or better at all of the other slams. See just how much it means to him in his post match celebration (20 sec)

• Before the tournament started, the field felt wide open. Let me explain. With both Sinner and Alcaraz dealing with injuries, and with Djokovic underperforming all year, the rest of the field must have thought that this could be their chance to break through. But based on the first week, those hopes might be dwindling. Alcaraz, Sinner and Djokovic have all made it to the quarterfinals, and it’s hard to see anyone else taking the cake. If De Minaur has a chance, he’ll have to squeeze every drop of luck out of Paul.

Meanwhile in China

Suave as always, Roger Federer manages to of-course pull off the wet hair look while swimming off of the South China Sea. It also seems like he’s in a battle against Tomas Machac and Daniil Medvedev for shortest shorts.

Trivia

Before Nadal’s first round loss to Alexander Zverev last week, there were only two other players to have ever beaten him at Roland Garros, Novak Djokovic being one of them. Who was the other player?

A. Roger Federer

B. Robin Soderling

C. Fabio Fognini

D. Carlos Alcaraz

Bonus point if you remember the year.

Find out at the bottom!

WTA

Dancing into the second week

Top WTA stories at Roland Garros:

• “Please don’t stop the music” - probably Aryna Sabalenka. The Belarusian has started a tradition to dance her way down the stairs after each win in Paris. She hasn’t dropped a set through four rounds, and plays 17 year old phenom Mirra Andreeva tomorrow. If you can’t watch the match, just check Twitter for her walk down the stairs. It will tell you everything you need to know.

• Two bagels please. Lightly toasted. Extra cream cheese. Oh and let’s make it snappy. After a come-back victory against Naomi Osaka in the second round, Iga Swiatek served up some bagels in her fourth round match, winning 6-0, 6-0 in just 40 minutes. Ouch. She plays world No. 6 Markéta Vondroušová today in the quarters. If I were to predict the scoreline, a pair of breadsticks (6-1, 6-1) might not be a bad guess given Iga’s good form.

• Unrelated to Roland Garros, the US Women’s Olympic team has been set. No. 2 Coco Gauff, No. 5 Jessica Pegula, No. 10 Danielle Collins, and No. 12 Madison Keys will rep the US this summer back in Paris. Safe to say, this team is stacked.

More News & Media

• Christian Ronaldo fan spotted. After a win at Roland Garros, Ons Jabeur did the Ronaldo goal celebration as she came out of the tunnel and greeted her team

• Slam with the best crowd? Many might argue the US Open, but here’s a vote for the French. Watch Carlos Alcaraz work the crowd as he takes some practice swings at the back of the court.

• Sent one email? Reward yourself by watching the Corentin Moutet vs. Jannik Sinner highlights. The Frenchman surpassed all expectations by making it to the fourth round, and by winning a set off of Sinner.

• And you thought you’d seen it all. Frustrated with the chair umpire, Hubert Hurkacz asked his opponent (and good friend) Grigor Dimitrov if he wanted a new umpire to officiate the rest of their match. Taken aback by the request, Dimitrov told Hurkacz it was up to him. Check out the full story.

Thanks for reading!

DP 🤠

Answer: Robin Soderling (2009)