After an impressive opener, Jack Sock faces Tommy Haas in the second round at Roland Garros. (Michael Euler/AP)

Here are the storylines and matches to watch on Day 5 of the French Open. Play begins at 5 a.m. ET. Click here for the order of play.

Storylines

Rain expected…again: Look for more matches to get cancelled and backed up to Friday. The forecast calls for a 60 percent chance of rain when play begins and rising to 80 percent in the evening. At a minimum, the last matches on each court will be under threat of cancellation, including Jack Sock vs. Tommy Haas, Ryan Harrison vs. John Isner, and others involving Richard Gasquet, Marion Bartoli, and Francesca Schiavone. Maria Sharapova, who takes on Canada’s Eugenie Bouchard, and Rafael Nadal could also get bumped.

We’re just one round away from…:  A number of highly-anticipated third round matches are in the cards if only the key players can hold up their end of the bargain and win on Thursday. Novak Djokovic and Grigor Dimitrov are on a collision course, but Djokovic must first beat Guido Pella (second match, Court Philippe Chatrier) and Dimitrov has French wildcard Lucas Pouille (first match, Court Suzanne Lenglen). Samantha Stosur and Jelena Jankovic are also a win away from an intriguing match, and both will have to beat two talented youngsters. Stosur is under more threat against 20-year old Kristina Mladenovic (first match, Court Philippe Chatrier), who has quietly racked up some good wins to break into the top 50. Jankovic takes on Spain’s Garbine Muguruza. And in one match that seems destined by the tennis gods, Nadal could face the last man to beat him at a Slam, Lukas Rosol. For that to happen, Rosol has to pull off the upset over 27th-seed Fabio Fognini.

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The Daily Bagel is your dose of the interesting reporting, writing and quipping from around the Internet.

• Video: Looking back on a classic moment at the French Open, when Marat Safin decided to celebrate his deft touch by pulling his shorts down. There is not a day that goes by that tennis doesn’t miss that guy.

• Andy Murray’s back scan seems to have revealed a nerve injury, leaving his readiness for the AEGON Championships at Queen’s Club in doubt.

The injury is understood to affect a nerve which sends pain shooting down his leg, which is why he can often be seen clutching at his hip, particularly after playing a high ball on his backhand side.

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Andy Roddick was one of several in tennis to applaud Jason Collins on Monday. (Joe Scarnici/Getty Images).

Andy Roddick and Mardy Fish went the extra step after applauding Jason Collins on Monday.

Athlete Ally, an organization working to raise awareness and end homophobia in sports, announced that Roddick and Fish joined their cause, becoming the first male professional tennis players to do so.

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Rafael Nadal won his record eighth title at the Barcelona Open on Sunday with a 6-4, 6-3 win over fellow Spaniard Nicolas Almagro, and he did it with style, hitting this “tweener” to get back into the rally late in the first set. Since launching his comeback from a seven-month injury absence in February, Nadal has reached the final of all six tournaments he’s played and is the first player to win four titles this season.

He also gave us this trophy pose, which might be the best one of the season so far.

Roger Federer dons a scarf with logos for both Chelsea and FC Basel. (Clive Rose/Getty Images)

Roger Federer was in the stands at St. Jakob Park on Thursday to support his hometown soccer club as FC Basel played host to Chelsea in the first leg of the Europa League semifinals.

Before the match, Federer backed his team to come out on top.

“We are looking forward like little kids to this game,” Federer told Swiss newspaper Basler Zeitung.

“In the end it will be 2-1 for FC Basel and all will have experienced an unforgettable evening.”

So close, Roger.

He got the scoreline right, but it was Chelsea that won 2-1.

Here’s video of Federer cheering on his boys with Marco Chiudinelli. We learn that Federer cheers for his favorite sports teams the same way the rest of us plebes do: with goofy abandon.

Rafael Nadal has won 42 matches in a row at Monte Carlo, but says streak could still end. (Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)

Rafael Nadal is going for an unprecedented ninth consecutive title at the Monte Carlo Masters this week. But despite the fact he is 44-1 there and has dropped a mere two sets in the last six years, the Spaniard refused to acknowledge his front-runner status at the first clay-court ATP Masters 1000 of the season.

Speaking to reporters on Monday, Nadal said his 42-match winning streak in Monte Carlo has to end eventually.

“I cannot say I’m the biggest favorite to win here again,” the Spaniard said on Monday as he prepared for his second-round start after a bye.

“This is not an easy event to win. I don’t want to lose perspective, but I don’t want to lose either.

“Everything in life finishes sometime. Someday the winning will stop, not everything is forever.

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David Ferrer last played at the Sony Open, where he lost in the final. (Alan Diaz/AP)

David Ferrer withdrew from next week’s Monte Carlo Rolex Masters, citing a thigh injury he sustained in his final loss to Andy Murray at the Sony Open in Miami. The No. 1 Spaniard tweeted his apologies and hoped to be recovered in time for the Barcelona Open, which begins April 22.

No. 4 Ferrer sits 585 points and one ranking spot ahead of Rafael Nadal as the clay season begins. His decision to skip Monte Carlo won’t threaten his position as he looks to hold off Nadal to keep the No. 4 ranking heading into the French Open. Having lost in his opening round last year to Thomaz Bellucci, Ferrer was defending a mere 10 points in Monte Carlo.

Nadal, the eight-time defending champion, is defending 1,000 points and can only lose ground to Ferrer regardless of the result. To catch Ferrer, Nadal will need to win every clay lead-up he plays — Monte Carlo, Barcelona, Madrid and Rome — and hope Ferrer suffers a few early losses. Otherwise, Nadal will go into the French Open, a tournament he’s won seven of the last eight years, ranked outside of the top four for the first time since he first played the event in 2005.

Lamentablemente no podré estar en Montecarlo por problemas físicos. Espero estar recuperado para poder jugar el Conde Godo.—
David Ferrer (@DavidFerrer87) April 11, 2013

Venus has been impressive in Charleston, but will get her biggest test from her sister in the semifinals. (Mic Smith/AP)

CHARLESTON, S.C. — After a historic day that saw both Serena and Venus Williams do double-duty to play and win two matches — rain delayed their third-round matches on Thursday — the two will face off for the 24th time in their careers in the semifinals of the Family Circle Cup. Venus opened play with a 6-2, 4-6, 6-2 win over Varvara Lepchenko and came back again to defeat 18-year-old Madison Keys 6-4, 6-4 to advance to her second semifinal of the year. Serena followed her lead, striking 34 winners on her way to beating Mallory Burdette 6-4, 6-2, and then defeated 6th seed Lucie Safarova 6-4, 6-1 in a rematch of last year’s final.

It’s been almost four years since Venus and Serena last faced off in the final of the WTA Championships in 2009, where Serena won 6-2, 7-6 to extend her slight lead in their head-to-head to 13-10. Due to their sisterly bond and familiarity, their matches have historically been tense, awkward affairs with each struggling to bring their best.

“I don’t love playing her,” Serena said. “If I win, I’m not super excited, and if I lose I’m really not excited.”

Video highlights from their last match in Doha in 2009:

Serena may not be excited but the tennis-watching public has always tuned in for the sisterly duel. When Venus and Serena met in a Slam final for the first time in their careers at the 2001 U.S. Open final, the tournament shifted its schedule to accomodate CBS’s request for the match to take place in primetime. That marked the first time the final of a Slam had ever been aired in primetime. Venus won that final 6-4, 6-2, but Serena would win their next five Slam final meetings. Their matches have rarely been blowouts, with 17 of their 23 matches going to either a tiebreak or a full three sets.

“I think we just both want to win,” Venus explained, chalking up the tense nature of their matches as one borne from mutual respect. “I think we just both have so much respect for each other’s game that makes it probably a little tougher because you know you’re not going to get an easy win. You know you have to really just be on your game and play well every single time. So I think that’s probably the toughest part.”

For Serena, it’s simply an issue of familiarity. “It’s difficult because we know each other,” she said. “I know where she’s going to serve. She knows where I’m going to serve. And I know her patterns and she knows mine. She probably knows mine better than I do.”

NGUYEN: New Venus and Serena documentary reviewed

It’s hard to ignore the fact that the two, separated by just 14 months in age, are in different places in their careers these days. Serena is obviously in the midst of a late career resurgence, having taken over the No. 1 ranking from Victoria Azarenka in February and winning last week’s Sony Open in Miami. The defending champion here, she has yet to drop a set heading into the semifinal. Venus on the other hand admits that she’s still struggling with some inflammation in her back that forced her to withdraw from Miami last week and hasn’t allowed her to serve at 100 percent this week. Without the ability to serve at her best, Venus will have a tough time defending her serve against her kid sister’s aggressive returning.

Asked if she tried to keep her injury problems a secret from Serena after she saw the draw, Venus shook her head and laughed. “I think everybody knows about that.” Nevertheless, Serena says she’ll have to play her best.

“She’s [the] toughest opponent I’ve ever played, and I think she’s beaten me the most of any player, I think. We’ll see how it goes.”

The two will battle at 1 p.m. ET on ESPN.

Serena Williams (top) defeated Dominika Cibulkova 2-6, 6-4, 6-2 Monday. (Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)

Serena Williams came out heavy-footed and flat in her fourth round match against Dominika Cibulkova at the Sony Open Monday and found herself down 6-2, 4-1 to the diminutive and talented Slovakian before quickly rebounding to win 11 of the last 13 games and prevail 2-6, 6-4, 6-2.

Through the first set, Serena hit 18 unforced errors to a mere two winners and her serves were clocking well below 90 mph. This from a player who can regularly serve over 115mph and usually has at least two winners before the end of the first game of the match? Something was up.

“Mentally I was just fried and I was just thinking about everything but tennis,” Serena told reporters. “Then I just had to pull myself back together.”

She spent the first set of the match struggling with an internal dialogue — literally. Asked if there are “two Serenas” sometimes, she said yes.

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Rafeal Nadal is in the finals of the BNP Paribas Open despite some hesitancy heading into the week. (Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)

INDIAN WELLS, Calif. – Rafael Nadal came into the BNP Paribas Open last week not knowing how his body would react in his first hard court tournament in almost a year. A week and a half on, he’s into his first hard court final since the 2012 Australian Open after continuing his fantastic form here with a 6-4, 7-5 win over Tomas Berdych. On Sunday he’ll meet the man who has upended the men’s draw in the span of 24 hours, Juan Martin del Potro. The big-hitting Argentine came back from a set down to beat Andy Murray in the quarterfinals and returned today to do the same against No. 1 Novak Djokovic, overcoming a 0-3 deficit in the third set to win 4-6, 6-4, 6-4.

Now fess up: Who saw this final coming?

Definitely not Nadal. He couldn’t stop smiling after making his first ATP Masters 1000 hard court final since Miami in 2011. ”The things seem always almost impossible until the things are done,” Nadal said after the match. The tournament has been a resounding success for him, especially after beating two Top 10 players in Roger Federer and Berdych in back-to-back matches on his least favorite surface. Nadal has a history of talking down his chances at tournaments but even he shrugged when asked whether he believed he could win the tournament. “I cannot still saying these kind of things after a lot of success that I had, but any opponent tomorrow will be a very difficult opponent,” Nadal said. ”Today I am just here, and for me is a present (gift) to be here.”

“I don’t have nothing to lose after seven months. I did much more than what I dreamed.”

While there is little to lose for Nadal there is much to gain. He’s going for his 600th career win on Sunday and, currently tied with Federer for the most ATP Masters 1000 titles at 21, a win would give him the most ATP Masters 1000 titles since 1990. A title would also boost him to No. 4 in the rankings on Monday ahead of David Ferrer.

But can he stop the buzzsaw that is Del Potro? The 2009 U.S. Open champion has had a solid but not spectacular start to 2013, with a surprising third round loss at the Australian Open and losses to Djokovic in Dubai and Gilles Simon in Marseille. He finds himself in his first BNP Paribas Open final on the strength of his forehand, backhand slice, and fight. He’s hitting that forehand as good as he was back in 2009 when he won his one and only Slam, but it’s his slice that has been causing opponents problems. Against Murray and Djokovic, Del Potro was able to use the shot effectively both as a defensive tactic and on offense, keeping the ball low to his opponents backhand until he could get a short ball to hit.

“I use it because my coach told me that, so thanks to him,” Del Potro said after he beat Murray.

“I don’t know if I’m going to use tomorrow against Rafa because he’s lefty and he move really, really fast in the baseline. But what I know about him is [I need to] play more aggressive than today, trying to make a few winners with my forehands, coming a lot to the net, and I need to serve well also.”

Del Potro hasn’t beaten Nadal since 2009 (the Spaniard leads their head-to-head 7-3) but his three wins did come on hard courts on the biggest of stages. During his stellar 2009 season, Del Potro reeled off three straight wins over Nadal in Miami, Montreal, and at the U.S. Open and who knows if that run would have continued if he hadn’t suffered a wrist injury that knocked him out of the game for much of 2010. He’s slowly worked his way back since then and much like Nadal’s knees questions continue to plague Del Potro as to the status of his wrist. “I’m okay. I’m getting closer to be 100%,” he said this week.

Recovery will be key for Del Potro’s chances in the final. He spent five hours and 22 minutes on court beating Murray and Djokovic, will be playing his third match in three days in near-100 degree heat, while Nadal only took three hours and seven minutes to get through Federer and Berdych and benefitted from a day off in between. Surprisingly, it is only Del Potro’s second ATP Masters 1000 final of his career. As for the game plan against Nadal, Del Potro could only offer a sheepish smile.

“Everything perfect.” Alrighty then. That sounds simple enough.

Prediction: Nadal in three sets.