Day 5 of the Men’s draw is filled with exciting matches. Surprises, as usual, have occurred in the first days of Roland Garros. Daniil Medvedev, Hubert Hurkacz, Gael Monfils, Andy Murray, Filip Krajinovic, Frances Tiafoe, Felix Auger Aliassime Marin Cilic, and Alex de Minaur have all had early exits. The field is wide open for anyone, but obviously, Nadal and Djokovic are still the heavy favorites.
Dušan Lajović vs Kevin Anderson
The big South African player has the upper edge on this head to head. Last time they met was in 2018 in Madrid. Anderson has been hit with injuries as of lately and hasn’t played that much tennis. The Serbian comes from losing in the quarter-finals to Tsitsipas in two sets in Hamburg. He made it to the third round in Rome before losing to Nadal in straight sets. This will be a great match as both players will try to take advantage of their heavy hitting and first serve.
Alejandro Davidovich Fokina vs Andrey Rublev
This will be their first encounter between the two young players. Rublev is having an amazing year and comes from winning Hamburg in an amazing match against Tsitsipas. The young Spaniard had a good run at the US Open but hasn’t brought that level to the clay courts just yet. It will be an interesting match as Rublev came back from two sets down against Querrey and will look to have a convincing win.
Denis Shapovalov vs Roberto Carballés Baena
The young Canadian is playing the best tennis of his career. He made it to the semis at the Rome Masters and at the quarter-finals at the US Open. He is now ranked number 11 in the world and is producing high quality tennis. The Spaniard hasn’t played that very well throughout the year and he is looking for an upset. Shapovalov should have a comfortable match and is the heavy favorite.
Novak Djokovic vs Ričardas Berankis
Djokovic is playing insane tennis and has only lost one match because of the incident at the US Open and was disqualified. He comes from winning the Rome Masters and looks fresh. Last time these two met was in 2013 at the US Open and the Serbian won the match easily in three sets. Expect Djokovic to dictate every point and show his masterclass. This should be an easy match for Novak, but he can’t underestimate the Lithuanian.
Pablo Cuevas vs Stefanos Tsitsipas
The young Greek comes from a devastating loss against Rublev in the Hamburg final where he was unable to serve for the match. He is looking to bounce back as he was in trouble in the first round of the French Open. These two have met three times with the Greek winning all of the three. They met last week in Hamburg where the Greek took the match in straight sets. Expect the Greek to take control of the match, but he has to watch out as the Uruguayan is great at clay.
Guido Pella vs Pablo Carreño Busta
These two have met three times with the Spaniard taking two of those. Last time they met was at the Davis Cup last year where Pella took the match in three sets. The Spaniard had an amazing run at the US Open and will try to emulate that to the French Open. Both players are good in clay so expect an even encounter, but the Spaniard is the favorite one in this clash.
More Surprises
To conclude, many surprises are in the making as everyone is seizing their opportunities. It has been a crazy year and every player is taking advantage of the circumstances. The weather is different and many players haven’t played that much high level tennis. Big names will be knocked out lets just see who they will be.
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