We begin the second round on Wednesday, Day 4 of the French Open. There will be 16 women’s matches, and we’re predicting every one of them. We’ll be looking at four matches in this article, but we will also have three more sets of articles. One set features Simona Halep vs Irina-Camelia Begu, the next headlines Coco Gauff vs Martina Trevisan, and the final features Serena Williams vs Tsvetana Pironkova. Predicting these matches today are Andrew Watson, Damian Kust, and Jim Smith.
French Open Day 4 Predictions
Hsieh Su-wei vs Iga Swiatek
Andrew:
The Polish youngster produced one of the wins of the opening round in demolishing last year’s finalist Marketa Vondrousova conceding only 3 games. Hsieh will be tricky in these conditions, her drop shots and angles should be effective. However, Swiatek’s movement will help her overcome the Korean in this match.
Prediction: Swiatek in 3
Damian:
Tough to call against Swiatek after her unplayable first round performance. She shouldn’t get relaxed, though, as Hsieh’s game is always tricky to face.
Prediction: Swiatek in 3
Jim:
For Swiatek, there is clearly something special in Paris. The Pole arrived at the French Open in no kind of form, only to thrash 2019 finalist Marketa Vondrousova in straight sets. She may not find things quite so straightforward against the crafty Hsieh, who ousted the qualifier Barbora Haas in the first round. But Swiatek’s penetrating groundstrokes should give her the edge.
Prediction: Swiatek in 3
Caroline Garcia vs Aliaksandra Sasnovich
Andrew:
The Frenchwoman took a marvelous victory in the opening round against Anett Kontaveit but this will be another tricky encounter. The Belorussian had a decent run in the US Open had a hard fought first round victory too. Garcia has a 3-0 career record against Sasnovich so the verdict must go to her for this one.
Prediction: Garcia in 3
Damian:
Garcia can play on clay, especially at home, but her confidence issues remain. I like what I’ve seen from Sasnovich on this surface since the restart and she doesn’t have that many bad days at the office.
Prediction: Sasnovich in 3
Jim:
There is no doubting Garcia’s talent, but consistency is a real problem for the Frenchwoman. Of course, the same might be said about Sasnovich, who is certainly a better player than her ranking of world #96 suggests. But she is probably not quite good enough to beat Garcia if the 26-year-old is at her best.
Prediction: Garcia in 3
Barbora Strycova vs Barbora Krejcikova
Andrew:
This all-Czech encounter will be highly competitive. Must lean towards the experienced Strycova though, she has played at a much higher level than Krejicikova’s ranking for over a decade. Wouldn’t be surprised to see this go down to the wire though.
Prediction: Strycova in 3
Damian:
This could be a tough battle between the two Czechs. Krejcikova failed to impress in the series of ITFs she played on clay, while Strycova has never done that well at Roland Garros. Could go down to details and bigger singles experience can be one of them.
Prediction: Strycova in 3
Jim:
This should be an entertaining match, with both women employing an attacking all-court approach, honed on the doubles court. But Strycova is that much more accomplished at it and should just about have the edge here.
Prediction: Strycova in 3
Bernarda Pera vs Amanda Anisimova
Andrew:
Both of these young Americans snapped some tough form in round one. Anisimova will be looking to resurrect her great form from last year here and that may well inspire her to some better tennis. Expect her to sneak through here.
Prediction: Anisimova in 3
Damian:
Last year’s semifinalist might not have been in the best of forms lately but her power game should work in these conditions. Pera’s really solid though and she can take advantage of a huge error count if Anisimova can’t find the court.
Prediction: Anisimova in 3
Jim:
It is hard to see Anisimova returning to the semifinals in Paris, although stranger things have certainly happened, but a third-round showing would be a respectable effort from the young gun. Expect her to accomplish at least that, with Pera not one of the more adept clay-courters in the women’s game.
Prediction: Anisimova in 3
Main Photo from Getty.
