The 2018 French Open has arrived, and it’s time to take a look at which top players are finding form ahead of Roland Garros, and which players are entering the tournament in poor form. Here is your review featuring Alexander Zverev and Stan Wawrinka.
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5: Dominic Thiem
Thiem is 27-8 on the season and enters the tournament with another addition to his trophy case in Lyon the week prior. After consecutive quarterfinals on clay, Thiem reached the Madrid final as well this season. Thiem is defending consecutive semifinal showings in Paris, Kei Nishikori to start the second week looks to be the first spot of trouble he will run into.
4: Denis Shapovalov
Shapovalov looks set to battle John Millman in round 1, and Jack Sock in round 3 before facing off with Rafael Nadal in week 2. The Canadian is past the “promising” stage of his career, as he’s posted some fantastic results including 16 tour wins ahead of his Roland Garros debut. Shapovalov reached the semis in Madrid and won a pair of matches in Rome before falling to Nadal, suggesting his big game is well suited for clay.
3: Pablo Carreno Busta
A quarterfinalist last season, PCB made runs in Barcelona, Estoril, and Rome reaching the quarterfinals or better at each of those tournaments. The Spaniard looks set to get a challenging contest with David Goffin in the fourth round as he looks to back up his solid showing last season.
2: Kyle Edmund
Edmund looks set for a tough third round contest with the Italian firework Fabio Fognini. The Brit is hoping to reach the second week of this tournament for the first time. He’s 17-9 on the season, including quarterfinals in Madrid and a final in Casablanca this spring. The new British #1 will carry the hopes of a nation on his back this tournament.
1: Alexander Zverev
The world #3 is the #2 seed this tournament and gets his own half of the draw despite never having reached a slam quarterfinal in his career. If it’s not going to be Rafael Nadal lifting the champions trophy, Zverev is as good of a bet as any other based on form. The German is 27-7 on the season reaching the final in Rome, and taking titles in both Munich and Madrid, along with semis in Monte Carlo. Zverev has lost just 6 matches on clay in 2 years compared to 32 wins and he should improve his record, as his draw suggests he’ll at least reach the quarterfinals this time out.
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5: Lucas Pouille
Pouille is an awful form with a 1-4 record on clay this season. Despite having home support, look for Pouille to struggle and perhaps go out in the opening week of the tournament. Pouille has yet to reach the second week at his home slam.
4: Grigor Dimitrov
Dimitrov’s worst slam results have come in Paris, he’s just 5-4 on clay this season despite being the world #5. He did reach the semis in Monte Carlo and quarters in Barcelona, but consecutive losses in Madrid and Rome will not inspire confidence at to his chances of making a deep run. Fernando Verdasco or more likely Novak Djokovic stand to benefit.
3: Gael Monfils
Monfils loves Paris, and Paris loves him. That said, he’s only won a single match out of five in his Spring clay season and therefore the odds of this former semifinalist posting another series of memorable results has to be quite low. Monfils is another who may be near the twilight of his career after struggling with injuries for large portions of it.
2: Tomas Berdych
The 32 year old is a former semifinalist here but he’s lost four straight matches heading into the tournament, including three on clay. Berdych is far from his peak and is looking close to being a washed up former ATP star.
1: Stan Wawrinka
The former champion is just 4-6 in a season where he’s mostly been rebuilding from injury. Wawrinka would normally be one of the tournament favorites on clay, but the Swiss veteran won just one match out of three in his Roland Garros warm up tournaments. It would be a big accomplishment for Wawrinka to feature in the second week.
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