Veteran tennis players feature in round 2 of the French Open with Rafael Nadal taking on another player from an older generation, Richard Gasquet. Andreas Seppi and Philipp Kohlschreiber also take to the courts in Paris. We have all your predictions for Day 5 play, in three other articles. One features Marin Cilic vs Roger Federer, another headlines Novak Djokovic vs Pablo Cuevas, and the final features Alex de Minaur vs Marco Cecchinato.
Rafael Nadal vs Richard Gasquet
Yesh Ginsburg: Nadal has never lost to Gasquet, and there’s no reason to expect that to start now. The Spaniard will move to 17-0 against his opponent. Nadal in 3
Damian Kust: Gasquet last took a set off Nadal on clay in 2005. He’s way less dangerous now and even in peak shape, he lacks weaponry to keep the Spaniard consistently on the back foot. This would be a shocking upset, even to a point where Gasquet taking a set would leave most stunned. Nadal in 3
Andreas Seppi vs Kwon Soon-Woo
Yesh: Seppi reminded us not to count him out, and his second-round matchup is winnable as well. Kwon doesn’t like clay, but he played well last match. Seppi in 4
Damian: Kwon took out a struggling Kevin Anderson, while Seppi made a ridiculous upset over Auger-Aliassime. The South Korean barely has any experience on clay in his career and should be rather easily outwitted by the accomplished opponent. Seppi in 3
Philipp Kohlschreiber vs Aslan Karatsev
Yesh: Kohlschreiber rolled back the years in his battle against Fernando Verdasco. Unfortunately for him, he runs into one of the most in-form players on tour this round. Karatsev in 3
Damian: Kohlschreiber won the veteran battle against Verdasco but this is likely where his run will end. Karatsev is just a much better player at the moment, which would have been a laughable statement this time last year. The conditions seem to suit the Russian well too. Karatsev in 3
Ricardas Berankis vs James Duckworth
Yesh: This should be a fun match. Neither player is elite, and both are prone to bouts of inconsistency. Berankis is the safer pick on clay, but this should be a tight match. Berankis in 5
Damian: Wow, that’s a second-round matchup you wouldn’t expect at the French Open. Both usually do not perform their best on clay at all and this has the potential to be a hot mess. Berankis looked pretty solid in the warm-ups, while Duckworth has just two matches on clay this year. Berankis in 5
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