Day 1 of the 2018 French Open saw upsets of defending women’s champion Jelena Ostapenko as well as Venus Williams while four men’s matches went the distance. With that in mind, here’s three to keep an eye on for the second full day of play in Paris.
Laura Siegemund vs Coco Vandeweghe
As mentioned in the preview article, this is a match to watch as Vandeweghe looks to duplicate her Stuttgart success, which saw her reach the final, the opening victory against Siegemund by a 6-4 4-6 6-3 score, who entered the tournament as the defending champion. Coincidentally, Vandeweghe has won their only other meeting in Madrid by an almost identical 6-2 4-6 6-3 scoreline. The American, seeded 15th, will look to keep points short and exploit the German’s forehand while Siegemund continues to progress following a long spell on the sidelines from a knee injury. If she can get into long rallies, she is in good shape to win this match.
Katerina Siniakova vs Victoria Azarenka
With her legal woes behind her following a nasty custody battle, Azarenka opens with the dangerous and talented, but erratic Siniakova. The Czech is coming into Paris on the back of a semifinal showing in Nuremberg while the two-time major champion’s last outing was a blowout loss at the hands of Naomi Osaka in the first round of Rome. In this first encounter between the two, there will be a lot of hard hitting and many soft second serves with the winner given a clear path to the second week after Ostapenko’s upset at the hands of Kateryna Kozlova.
Danielle Collins vs Caroline Wozniacki
The Australian Open champion has never advanced past the quarterfinals and she faces a tricky opener against the former NCAA champion. Collins made her breakthrough in Miami, reaching the semifinals, playing her aggressive, hard-hitting game. What she lacks in major experience she makes up for in power and she’ll try to impose her game on the second seed. With Ostapenko and Venus already gone from the tournament, it wouldn’t be a shock to see Wozniacki fall as well.
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