The French Open rolls on to day 3, which features Richard Gasquet vs Roberto Bautista Agut in a battle of veterans. Our panel of Steen Kirby and Damian Kust offer their predictions.
Roberto Bautista Agut vs Richard Gasquet
Damian: Clay is not Bautista Agut’s favorite surface and it’s a bit of a shame this match will be played without a huge French crowd in the stands. Gasquet has been declining lately and he’s going to have a hard time punching through the court in these conditions. Bautista Agut in 4
Steen: RBA dominates the h2h and his form is better, without a significant amount of fans in the stands to back Gasquet, the Spaniard should be a relatively strong favorite here against a fading veteran. Bautista Agut in 4
Thiago Monteiro vs Nikoloz Basilashvili
Damian: With all the personal issues and the lack of form, Basilashvili is a pretty generous draw for the Brazilian. He also played very well at a Challenger in Forli last week and should take advantage of that. Monteiro in 4
Steen: I’m not entirely sure why Basilashvili is still being allowed to play on tour right now, additionally, Monteiro is in solid form, a major contrast to Basilashvili’s losing record this year. Monteiro in 3
Andrej Martin vs Joao Sousa
Damian: Joao Sousa hasn’t been playing well lately, barely winning matches the whole season. This could be a great chance for him to pick up an important victory as Martin is a decent clay-court specialist, but has little to no experience at this level. Sousa in 5
Steen: Martin leads the h2h and he’s a little better on clay. Sousa is slightly more accomplished overall, but for this venue I will give Martin a narrow advantage. Martin in 5
Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Jaume Munar
Damian: It could be tougher than expected but the Greek was good enough in Hamburg to convince me he’ll pull through. His backhand will need to be up to the task though. Tsitsipas in 4
Steen: Munar can challenge Tsitsipas, but even if he does, over best of 5 the Greek should eke out a win, he has the more well rounded and bigger game. Tsitsipas in 3
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