Second seed Alexander Zverev takes on clay-court specialist and seventh seed Dominic Thiem in a much-anticipated men's singles quarter-final tie of French Open 2018 in Paris on Tuesday, June 5.
When is the quarter-final match and how to watch it live in India
The last-eight match of Roland Garros between Zverev and Thiem will start at 2 pm local time, 5:30 pm IST, 1 pm BST.
Star Sports Select 1 and Star Sports Select 1 HD will provide live television coverage of the match in India. Hotstar will stream the match live.
Thiem vs Zverev - Preview
While 10-time champion Rafael Nadal has been the undisputed King of Clay over the years, Zverev and Thiem are in the race to become the heir apparent of the Spanish ace. The result of Tuesday's quarter-final will have a major impact in deciding the next clay-court titan.
Both Zverev and Thiem, who were dubbed as two of main threats for Nadal at Roland Garros 2018, have been making heads turn with their performances on clay-court over the last few seasons.
Zverev had reached as high as world number three on ATP charts without even reaching the quarter-final stages at a Grand Slam but he has crossed the hurdle in the ongoing tournament after 12 unsuccessful attempts.
The 21-year-old German has been in imperious form on the red-dirt this season, with a win-loss record of 21-3. He has already won two titles — in Madrid and Munich and also finished runner-up in Rome last month.
Will fatigue affect Zverev after three five-setters on the trot?
Buoyed by recent success, Zverev is confident of putting up a strong show in the quarter-final despite having been taken the distance in his last three rounds in Paris. In all three matches, the lanky player was trailing two sets to one before making strong comebacks.
While fatigue may come into play, Zverev has alleviated concerns over his fitness, saying he is mentally strong to rally on in the ongoing tournament.
"If you're mentally fatigued, then something is wrong with you. Physically, obviously it's not easy to play, you know, back to back to back five-set matches, but I will manage it somehow. I will do everything I can to recover, as I said after the last match," Zverev told the media after his win over Karen Khachanov on Sunday.
Thiem eyes revenge
On the other hand, Thiem is heading into the quarter-final match on the back of beating Kei Nishikori in four sets on Sunday. The Austrian will has a consistent performer in Paris as he has reached the semi-final in the last two seasons as well.
The 24-year-old, who is the only player to have beaten Nadal in the last two clay-court seasons, had headed to Paris, days after winning a ATP 250 title in Lyon.
Thiem will be looking for revenge as he was handed a straight-game thrashing the last time the two youngsters met — Madrid Open final in May.
Having beaten Zverev four times in six meetings in the past, the world number world eight has the firepower to progress further in the tournament but he needs to be at his best to stop the high-flying German.
French Open 2018 - Global TV listings and live stream
UK: ITV4, Eurosport; Live stream: Eurosport Player
US: ESPN2, NBC; Live stream: Tennis Channel
Australia: Fox Sports 3; Live stream: Foxtel Go
Canada: TSN
France: France TV Sport 234
Pan-European: Eurosport International
Japan: WOWOW, TV Tokyo
China: CCTV 5
Middle East: beIN SportsAfrica: SuperSport
