The 2019 French Open enters Day 2 with title contender Dominic Thiem and young guns Frances Tiafoe and Denis Shapovalov in action. We also have predictions for matches featuring Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic that you can review. Steen Kirby and Yesh Ginsburg are on hand for predictions today.
Frances Tiafoe vs Filip Krajinovic
Steen: Krajinovic has had some randomly strong results in recent years but he’s not a clay courter by nature and Tiafoe has been improving his clay court game, notably posting a good result in Estoril. This match likely won’t be routine but I expect Tiafoe to prevail. Tiafoe in 3
Yesh: Tiafoe snuck into the seedings with Milos Raonic’s late withdrawal. He gets a talented Krajinovic in the first round, but the Serbian is more of a threat on hard courts. Tiafoe in 5
Dominic Thiem vs Tommy Paul
Steen: Tommy Paul is a capable player on clay unlike many Americans and he’s had success at the lower and junior levels on the surface. However, his ATP level results have been middling and Thiem is an elite clay court player, one of the top 5 in the world. Thiem has a shot to challenge for this title and I don’t see him tripping up this early, or having much difficulty at all with Paul. Thiem in 3
Yesh: Tommy Paul was once hailed as a future American star. He may become one yet, but it’s taking him a long time to make a breakthrough. A first-round match against last year’s runner-up is a huge opportunity, but Paul just isn’t near that level yet. Thiem in 3
Denis Shapovalov vs Jan-Lennard Struff
Steen: Shapovalov has not had a good season on clay but he remains a supreme talent who could turn it on and make a run despite little indication that his form is good right now. Struff is a perpetual underachiever who struggles mentally to close out matches. I expect the German to get at least a set before the young Canadian stabilizes his game and pulls out a win. Shapovalov in 4
Yesh: This is a terrible draw for Shapolavov. The young Canadian star has struggled on clay this year, and he gets a good clay-courter with a huge game in the first round. This has upset written all over it, and it won’t be particularly close. Struff in 3
Peter Gojowczyk vs Jo-Wilfried Tsonga
Steen: Tsonga will be lifted by the home crowd and he’s played well enough returning (slowly) from injury to suggest he has the upper hands against a fringe ATP player like Gojowczyk. Gojo has an unorthodox game and he’s capable but clay is not his best surface and his recent results don’t suggest that he’s likely to surge this tournament. Tsonga just needs to hope he can stay fit. Tsonga in 3
Yesh: How healthy is Tsonga? What’s his game like now? The fact that one of the tour’s best has quietly faded from the ranks of the elite players is a very sad and under-appreciated point about the tour. Tsonga in 4
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