The highly-anticipated 2024 Paris Olympics continues at Roland Garros as Leylah Fernandez faces Karolina Muchova and Marta Kostyuk goes up against Yulia Putintseva. Damien Kayat previews.
2024 Olympic Games
Paris Olympics
Roland Garros
Selected Ro64 matches – 27 July
Leylah Fernandez 12/10 | Karolina Muchova 13/20
The fact that Leylah Fernandez is seeded 16th for this event tells you everything you need to know about the women not in attendance this year. 2021 US Open runner-up Leylah Fernandez has managed to sneak her way into the seedings this year (though this isn’t exactly the ‘reward’ she will have been hoping for).
Fernandez has underachieved since that awe-inspiring New York run (though not to the same extent as eventual champion Emma Radacanu). Still, she did manage to win minor titles in 2022 and 2023.
But she struggled earlier this season and it looked as if she might be in for another mediocre campaign. But she surprisingly burst into life on the grass-court swing, reaching the quarters in Birmingham before a first-ever WTA 500 final in Eastbourne (she lost to Kasatkina in the final).
This will be her first appearance since Wimbledon and she should feel quite confident after turning her form around on grass (her least preferred surface). She reached the French Open quarterfinals back in 2022 and her grit and versatility make her a formidable opponent on these surfaces.
This could be a massive week for 27-year-old Karolina Muchova. The Czech star enjoyed a fabulous 2023 campaign, culminating in her qualifying for the season-ending WTA Tour finals.
She was brilliant at Grand Slam level, reaching the semifinals of the US Open and memorably finishing runner-up at the French. She was electrifying here last season, taking down Sabalenka in the semis before pushing clay-court demigoddess Iga Swiatek to three sets in the final.
The aggressive Muchova has proven to be an adroit clay-court operator, with three of her five career finals coming on the sticky stuff. But she has always been susceptible to injuries and she was forced to withdraw from last year’s WTA Finals due to a wrist issue.
She had surgery on that wrist in February, only returning to action at the Eastbourne Invitational. And she has really hit the ground running since her return, reaching the quarterfinals in Eastbourne before finishing runner-up at last week’s Palermo Ladies Open. She has a dynamic style that blends brutish power with a wonderful touch (her drop-shot was key to her Roland Garros success last year).
The Verdict: Muchova to win in straight sets 27/20
Muchova leads the head-to-head 1-0, taking down the Canadian at the 2022 Miami Open. I think that Muchova’s greater firepower will be key to victory.
Fernandez has a powerful forehand that can be quite destructive when she’s in the mood. But Muchova is a more venomous ball-striker and her use of the drop-shot just gives her an added dimension.
Marta Kostyuk 23/20 | Yulia Putintseva 68/100
Marta Kostyuk has been on a pretty meteoric rise this season. The Ukrainian has always been noted for her brilliant athleticism (she did backflips on court in her earlier days). But she has just gone from strength to strength this year, fusing that raw athleticism with real shot-making versatility.
She reached her maiden Grand Slam quarterfinal at the Aussie Open and she would later reach her first WTA 1000 semifinal at Indian Wells. She also made quite an impact on the WTA 500 scene, with runner-up finishes in San Diego and Stuttgart (her first clay-court final).
Her form has actually regressed in recent months: she is 3-6 since Stuttgart. She was eliminated in the 2nd round of the French Open by Donna Vekic and she will be hoping to make a much better impression in Paris this time around.
I think she was a victim of her own success in the early portion of the season, playing too many games in a congested schedule. She hasn’t played since Wimbledon and I think she will be feeling recharged this week.
The 29-year-old Kazakh Yulia Putintseva is experiencing a bit of a renaissance this season. Known for her brash on-court demeanour, the Kazakh’s career was threatening to drift into obscurity.
But she suddenly caught fire during the famed ‘Sunshine Double’, reaching the final 16 at Indian Wells before a quarterfinal run in Miami. She continued that WTA 1000 form with another quarterfinal run in Madrid. She will have felt disappointed after throwing away a one-set lead against Badosa in her French Open second-round tie.
But she turned that disappointment into triumph with a truly sensational grass-court swing. She claimed the first grass-court title of her career in Birmingham and she would go on to reach the final 16 at Wimbledon (accounting for Iga Swiatek in the process).
She is 8-1 in her last three events and she also happens to be a two-time French Open quarterfinalist. A defensive baseliner by nature, Putintseva will fight for every point out there.
The Verdict: Kostyuk to win in three 4/1
This will be their first career meeting. Putintseva clearly has greater Roland Garros experience and she arrives in pretty remarkable form. But Marta Kostyuk has had the opportunity to push the reset button and I could see her thriving this week.
She picked up some barnstorming results towards the start of the year and she has the pure athleticism to outdo Putinseva’s hustle.
