French Open 4th Round Predictions, Day 8: Ivanovic-Radwanska, Ferrer-Anderson

Firstly a quick mention to Tommy Haas's five set win over John Isner in the match of the tournament so far.  Isner saved 12 match points in the 4th set and even had a match point of his own in the 5th set before eventually succumbing in a mammoth third rounder, 7-5 7-6 4-6 6-7 10-8.  A fantastic effort from both players as Isner had another five setter yesterday with Ryan Harrison and Haas showed some epic mental toughness to come back from not converting all those match points in the 4th set.  It's now time for the round of 16 to kick off, here's the preview...

1. Ana Ivanovic v Agnieszka Radwanska

Ana Ivanovic

Ana Ivanovic and Aga Radwanska will meet for the third time in 2013 and this match-up has a slightly different feel to it than their previous two.  Aga comfortably beat Ivanovic in Melbourne and also won in straight sets in Doha.  Since then, Ivanovic has had a very encouraging two months including a semi-final run in Madrid, meanwhile Radwanska has trebled her wins on clay at Roland Garros following a dour run in Madrid and Rome.  Ivanovic was tested in her opener against Petra Martic, but has since faced no struggles with straight set wins over Mathilde Johansson and Virginie Razzano.  Radwanska edged past Dinah Pfizenmaier, 6-3 6-4, who really should have taken the second set of their third round encounter, but inexperience really cost her.

This match will purely come down to Ivanovic's mindset.  I have no doubt she can beat Radwanska, but she has suffered six consecutive losses to the world number four, which is bound to play on one's mind.  Working in Ivanovic's favour is that this is on clay, which is Aga's worst surface.  I watched Radwanska against Pfizemaier and there was just nothing impressive from Aga.  I'm going for Ivanovic in this one, but I know this will be a real mental battle...

Prediction - Ivanovic to beat Radwanska in 2 tight sets

2. David Ferrer v Kevin Anderson

Kevin Anderson has continued to shine this week with a second consecutive round of 16 showing at a Grand Slam; going in his favour this time is that Tomas Berdych is nowhere to been seen in the draw.  Anderson had a mightily impressive straight sets third round win over Milos Raonic, 7-5 7-6(4) 6-3.  Next up for Kevin is David Ferrer who has sauntered through the draw without barely a mention.  He took out Feliciano Lopez in round three with a thumping 6-1 7-5 6-4 victory.  Anderson has some hope in this match-up because he beat Ferrer in Indian Wells and his form has continued to improve over the season.  Ferrer obviously has the advantage on clay and he's playing well himself.  All in all, a tough one, but got to go for Ferrer.

Prediction - Ferrer to beat Anderson in 4 sets

3. Svetlana Kuznetsova v Angelique Kerber

Both Svetlana Kuznetsova and Angelique Kerber had tough third round matches, but came through to set up an intriguing 4th round showing.  Kuznetsova overcame a shaky finish to beat Bojana Jovanovski, 6-4 7-6(2).  Kerber managed to net her first win in five attempts over Varvara Lepchenko in one of the WTA's more surprising statistics.  It was certainly not easy though as she lost the middle set on a tiebreak, but eventually found a way through, 6-4 6-7(3) 6-4.  Kuznetsova and Kerber played recently in Madrid where Kerber came through a really competitive match, 7-5 in the decider.  There is no doubt that Svetlana is the more talented player on this surface, but her loss to Kerber in Madrid, which included wasting a set and a break lead, and twice blowing the chance to serve out against Jovanovski has made me think that Kerber's mental toughness will win her this match...

Prediction - Kerber to beat Kuznetsova in 3 sets

4. Carla Suarez Navarro v Sara Errani

Carla Suarez Navarro

This 4th round match between Carla Suarez Navarro and Sara Errani will see the pair square off for the fourth time in 2013.  Suarez Navarro lost the opening set of her first two rounds, but showed impressive resolve to overcome both Simona Halep and Shelby Rogers in 3 sets.  Yesterday, she took out the rapidly improving, Monica Puig in two tight sets.  Errani has been trundling through the draw quite nicely and beat Sabine Lisicki, 6-0 6-4 in the third round.  Suarez Navarro started the season in style beating Errani in Melbourne, but the Italian has since enjoyed two wins, a tough three setter in Paris and a rather straightforward win in the final of Acapulco.  I am really pleased to see Suarez Navarro continue her very solid year in making the round of 16 because she has a great game for the WTA.  However Errani is really on a roll right now and is my tip for the quarters.

Prediction - Errani to beat Suarez Navarro in 2 sets (1 tight, 1 easy)

Best of the rest: womens 4th round predictions

S.Williams to beat Vinci in 2 sets - An interesting test for Serena, but she has looked lethal so far and shouldn't lose a set to Vinci.

Best of the rest: mens 4th round predictions

Nicolas Almagro to beat Tommy Robredo in 4 sets - Almagro has been suprisinglying fluid in his progress through the draw and should take advantage of an excellent draw.  Robredo is no slouch, but I just favour Almagro for this one, who has appeared to overcome some niggly injuries.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga to beat Victor Troicki in 3 sets - A great effort from Troicki to beat Marin Cilic in straihgt sets, but I think it will be a walk in the park for Tsonga.

Roger Federer to beat Gilles Simon in 3 sets - No explanation required!

Today was perhaps my best prediction day of the year so far as from my preview yesterday, I correctly predicted the winner of every match to be completed. These days are rare so I am going to revel in it for tonight before things probably going downhill tomorrow ;-)