Matteo Berrettini is looking to build on his recent solid performances on clay to make the second week of the French Open for the first time. His first opponent is Taro Daniel. We have all of your predictions for Day 3 of the French Open, in four other articles. One features Novak Djokovic vs Tennys Sandgren, another headlines Rafael Nadal vs Alexei Popyrin, the third highlights Gael Monfils vs Albert Ramos-Vinolas, and the fourth features Hugo Gaston vs Richard Gasquet.
Matteo Berrettini vs Taro Daniel
Eric Han: Berrettini has been playing pretty well this clay season, and definitely has the ability to make a deep run here in Paris. His first opponent, Taro Daniel, should present no problems for Berretini as he should advance with ease. Berretini in 3
Yesh Ginsburg: Matteo Berrettini seems to have hit a wall in his development, but that wall is right around the edge of the Top 10. He should have zero trouble blasting Taro Daniel off the court. Berrettini in 3
Damian Kust: Daniel is among the most dangerous of the qualifiers and his rallying abilities should be able to make Berrettini at least work for it. The Italian’s form has been just stunning though and it is really unlikely that he would go out in the opening round here. Berrettini in 3
Salvatore Caruso vs James Duckworth
Eric: Caruso’s best results have come on clay, and has been playing a lot of tournaments on clay tournaments so will have clay match experiences under his belt. Duckworth, not so much. Caruso in 4
Yesh: Salvatore Caruso had a miracle run here a few years ago, but he hasn’t been able to do much since. Duckworth, meanwhile, hasn’t been able to be much more than a fringe Top 100 player yet. Caruso in 4
Damian: Caruso has lost his last five matches but he’ll still be regarded as the favorite here. Duckworth clearly decided not to focus on the clay-court season too much and played just one event, losing to World No. 336 Raul Brancaccio right out of the gate. Caruso in 4
Adrian Mannarino vs Aljaz Bedene
Eric: Mannarino will enjoy playing in his home Grand Slam, he is not expected to have a deep run here. But is expected to come through this match. Mannarino in 3
Yesh: Bedene is decent. Mannarino is solid and consistent, though he’s fallen off a bit from his impressive level of a few years ago. He’s better than Bedene, though. Mannarino in 4
Damian: Bedene has a losing head-to-head but won their only meeting on clay. He also has a massive form advantage, as Mannarino went out in the opening round of his last six events, five of them played on the dirt. The Frenchman’s flatter strokes just can’t penetrate this surface that well either. Bedene in 3
Diego Schwartzman vs Yen-Hsun Lu
Eric: Schwartzman has really been struggling with his confidence this year on clay- his favourite surface. This will be a good opportunity to turn things around as Lu has not played many tournaments this year, so will be short of match practice. The Argentine desperately needs this win. Schwartzman in 3
Yesh: Diego Schwartzman has been out of form recently. A good antidote to playing poorly is a matchup with Yen-Hsun Lu on clay. Schwartzman should cruise. Schwartzman in 3
Damian: The 37-year-old is using his protected ranking for the biggest events but is yet to show that he’s realistically able to come back to the tour full-time. A match against Schwartzman on the most physical of the surfaces will expose that. On top of that, Lu has a 5-17 win/loss record in tour-level matches on clay. Schwartzman in 3
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