There should be no shortage of entertaining tennis on day four at the French Open with 16 matches on the slate in Paris. As always, we here at LWOT will be offering our predictions for every match on the schedule, including Fabio Fognini vs Marton Fucsovics, Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Pedro Martinez and Tommy Paul vs Daniil Medvedev. But who will advance to the last 32?
French Open Day 4 Predictions
Karen Khachanov vs Kei Nishikori
Jim: Karen Khachanov is one of several players who managed to bounce back from a string of poor results to win in the first round as he hammered Jiri Vesely in straight-sets, 6-1 6-2 6-3. He will need more of the same against the hugely experienced Kei Nishikori. But the Japanese was not at his best in the first round, needing five sets to get past Alessandro Giannessi. Unless he finds a sharp improvement, expect Khachanov to have the edge here.
Prediction: Khachanov in 4
Yesh: Nishikori didn’t look great in his opening round, but the fifth-set master continued his dominance in deciders. Khachanov looked solid, but Nishikori’s game should trouble him. I expect another long one.
Prediction: Nishikori in 5
Damian: Nishikori added to his fantastic win-loss record by coming back from 2-4 down against Giannessi. He wasn’t looking great physically and that’s definitely not a match he can close in an hour and a half. The longer it goes, the more likely he’ll be to fade away.
Prediction: Khachanov in 4
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Alejandro Davidovich Fokina vs Botic van de Zandschulp
Jim: Botic van de Zandschulp claimed his first win at Grand Slam-level in some style by rallying from a set down to beat Hubert Hurkacz in the first round. Alejandro Davidovich Fokina was rather more comfortable in getting past Mikhail Kukushkin and with van de Zandschulp now carrying a lot of miles in his legs, this should be another routine outing for the Spaniard.
Prediction: Davidovich Fokina in 3
Yesh: Van de Zandschulp continues to impress as he rises up the rankings, this time coming back from two sets down to upset Hubert Hurkacz. His opponent this round looks in strong form, though.
Prediction: Davidovich Fokina in 5
Damian: It was a fantastic win for van de Zandschulp, who came from two sets to love down against Hurkacz. He might give Davidovich Fokina more trouble than expected, provided his big game is as accurate as it was in the latter stages of his opening-round win. The Spaniard is the sensible pick though.
Prediction: Davidovich Fokina in 4
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Enzo Couacaud vs Pablo Carreno Busta
Jim: Enzo Couacaud took full advantage of Egor Gerasimov’s continuing struggles to oust the Belarusian in straight-sets in the first round. But it is hard to see his run continuing. Not for the first time, Pablo Carreno Busta has seen his season disrupted by injuries, but he looked to be fit and firing in the first round and if he can maintain the level he showed there, expect him to beat Couacaud without encountering too many problems.
Prediction: Carreno Busta in 3
Yesh: Carreno Busta looks in solid form and should be able to outclass his French wild card opponent.
Prediction: Carreno Busta in 3
Damian: Couacaud put in an awe-inspiring performance in the opening round, but the rise of the level of the opposition will be extremely steep. The Frenchman is a great counter-puncher but the point construction and rallying skills that Carreno Busta has are likely to allow him to win this comfortably.
Prediction: Carreno Busta in 3
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Mackenzie McDonald vs Cristian Garin
Jim: It has been a confidence-building week for Mackenzie McDonald, who has seen his ranking slip out of the top 100 after a disappointing downturn in results over the last 18 months. But this will surely be a challenge too far for the qualifier. Cristian Garin has not been at his consistent best of late, but the Chilean is one of the finest clay-courters in the men’s game and should have too much for McDonald.
Prediction: Garin in 3
Yesh: McDonald picked up a good win in the opening round to back up his successful qualifying campaign. The former college star is starting to find himself on tour. A matchup with Garin on clay is probably too big an ask right now, but the American can make it tight.
Prediction: Garin in 4
Damian: A dark horse for many, Garin didn’t look that convincing against Londero, only avoiding a fifth set by coming back from 0-4 down to win the fourth. The Chilean can raise his level though and maybe it was just a bit of nerves resulting from knowing that the opportunity is there to be taken. McDonald will not go away easily though.
Prediction: Garin in 4
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