LEARNING
Both of World No.1 Naomi Osaka's two previous encounters with former World No.1 Victoria Azarenka have been one-sided affairs. Azarenka won their first meeting in the third round of the 2016 Australian Open - Osaka's Grand Slam debut - 6-1, 6-1, and Osaka avenged the loss 6-0, 6-3 in the first round of Rome last year. Azarenka owns three Top 10 wins in 2019 so far - over Angelique Kerber in Monterrey, Karolina Pliskova in Stuttgart and Elina Svitolina in Rome - but her last win over a reigning World No.1 was her defeat of Serena Williams in the 2016 Indian Wells final.
No.11 seed Aryna Sabalenka will be looking for revenge against 17-year-old Amanda Anisimova: the American teenager, the youngest player in the Top 100, shocked Sabalenka 6-3, 6-2 in the third round of the Australian Open in January to make the second week of a major for the first time. Bogota champion Anisimova is seeking to become the youngest American to make the third round in Paris since Serena Williams in 1999.
All of No.21 seed Daria Kasatkina's previous encounters with Monica Puig have been dramatic three-setters. In their first meeting, the Russian saved a match point to win their 2016 third-round clash in Indian Wells 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(2); the following year, Puig would come from a set and a break down to win 4-6, 7-5, 6-4 in the Doha quarterfinals. Their most recent encounter saw Kasatkina edge ahead in the head-to-head, taking their 2017 Charleston second-rounder 6-0, 6-7(3), 6-2 en route to her maiden title. Last year's quarterfinalist is bidding to win consecutive matches for just the second time in 2019 following her third-round run in Rome.
No.29 seed Maria Sakkari and Katerina Siniakova have only ever played each other on the Grand Slam stage. The Greek triumphed 6-3, 6-4 in their first meeting in the first round of Wimbledon 2017; Siniakova leveled the head-to-head with a 6-2, 6-7(5), 6-4 win in the first round of the 2018 Australian Open.
Kurumi Nara, No.10 seed Serena Williams's opponent today, snapped a 16-match losing streak in WTA main draws stretching back to the 2017 Tashkent quarterfinals with her first-round defeat of Dalila Jakupovic. The Japanese No.5 and 2014 Rio de Janeiro champion compiled a 28-28 record in 2018 - but lost all 14 of her WTA main draw matches.
17-year-old Iga Swiatek, the reigning Wimbledon junior champion, will face a Top 20 opponent for the first time in her career in the shape of No.16 seed Wang Qiang. This time last year, the Pole was ranked World No.344 and lost in the semifinals of the junior event here.
No.8 seed Ashleigh Barty's match against Australian Open semifinalist Danielle Collins will be a reprise of a topsy-turvy encounter three weeks ago in the second round of Madrid, which Barty won 6-1, 1-6, 6-1. If the American overturns that result, it will be her third career Top 10 win - and the second straight Slam at which she has upset a Top 10 opponent following her defeat of Angelique Kerber in Melbourne. Roland Garros is the only major at which Barty is yet to reach the third round.
TRENDING
Sorry @KrunicAlex. Karma hit me back 😂 out with a quad strain 👎🏻 hope to be healthy for Wimbledon! pic.twitter.com/SZYFX9jMcT
— Daria Gavrilova (@Daria_gav) May 29, 2019
🔊 Le public belge était là 👏🇧🇪 #merci https://t.co/Rbgu6SuyGl
— Elise Mertens (@elise_mertens) May 29, 2019
ORDER OF PLAY
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READING
Nina Pantic goes behind the scenes at the USTA's new red clay courts in Lake Nona for tennis.com, where Madison Keys trained ahead of Roland Garros.
There are very different things at stake for the contestants in today's popcorn match between Naomi Osaka and Victoria Azarenka, writes Bonnie D. Ford for ESPN.com.
