The French Open wraps up its second round on Day 5. Thursday will see the last 16 Round 2 matches, and we’re here to predict all of them for you. The 16 matches are split between four articles. We predict four matches each article. In addition to this article, the others feature Coco Gauff vs Qiang Wang, Ashleigh Barty vs Magda Linette, and Sofia Kenin vs Hailey Baptiste. Predicting this set of matches are Jim Smith, Damian Kust, and Nurein Ahmed.
French Open Day 5 Predictions
Fiona Ferro vs Jennifer Brady
Jim:
Jennifer Brady is hardly unique in American tennis in not much enjoying the clay-court season. But she has played some good tennis on the red dirt this season and maintained her fine form with a 6-3 6-3 win over Anastasija Sevastova in the first round. If she can maintain that level, she should have too much for Fiona Ferro, who did not look at her best in the first round.
Prediction: Brady in 3
Damian:
That’s a very exciting matchup. Usually, I would lean to the Frenchwoman, who has the ability to make the opponent play completely on her own terms. She’s just coming back from an injury, though, and Brady seems a much more reliable pick right now.
Prediction: Brady in 3
Nurein:
I watched Fiona Ferro struggle to put away Taiwanese qualifier En Shuo Liang and I thought this may not be a good time to play Jennifer Brady. The Frenchwoman was consumed by nerves. I lost count at the number of times she would toss the ball on her service games and pick it up in the air and toss it up again. It was madness. Brady should have the measure of the World No. 51.
Prediction: Brady in 2
Marta Kostyuk vs Zheng Saisai
Jim:
Marta Kostyuk made some start to her French Open campaign, hammering the former-champion Garbine Muguruza for the loss of only five games. Even if the Spaniard was not at her best, it was an impressive performance from the young Ukrainian. One that she should expect to back up against Zheng Saisai, who despite finally winning her first match at Roland Garros, is hardly a clay-court specialist.
Prediction: Kostyuk in 3
Damian:
Kostyuk could be a future star of the game, but it’s often hard to blend that ridiculous power with enough accuracy. When she does it as well as against Muguruza though, the sky’s the limit.
Prediction: Kostyuk in 2
Nurein:
Marta Kostyuk disappeared from the radar for quite some time, but she secured a fine win over Garbine Muguruza on Monday. Kostyuk beat Zheng pretty handily in their only previous meeting on clay, and I would expect the Ukrainian to hold all the cards in this contest.
Prediction: Kostyuk in 2
Iga Swiatek vs Rebecca Peterson
Jim:
Rebecca Peterson played some fine tennis in the first round to beat Shelby Rogers in three sets, but it is hard to see how she will be able to hurt Iga Swiatek. Both are most comfortable playing from the baseline, but it is Swiatek who is the better able to step in and dictate.
Prediction: Swiatek in 2
Damian:
After scoring another bagel set, Swiatek was properly tested against Juvan in the second one. She needed to up her level to get through, and the fact that she was able to makes me think she should be very safe here.
Prediction: Swiatek in 2
Nurein:
Rebecca Peterson is capable of producing the odd upset at times, but she is unlikely to do it in this one. Swiatek is playing at a breakneck pace right now and her cross-court backhand has been an effective shot in smothering her opponents into submission. The Swede will have a torrid time in dealing with it.
Prediction: Swiatek in 2
Karolina Pliskova vs Sloane Stephens
Jim:
Karolina Pliskova made a solid enough start to her French Open campaign, beating the returning Donna Vekic 7-5 6-4 to bounce back from the 0-6 0-6 hammering she received from Iga Swiatek in Rome. Sloane Stephens just about scraped past Carla Suarez Navarro to deny the Spaniard a win on her comeback from Hodgkin’s lymphoma, but it was not a particularly convincing performance. Pliskova should have the edge.
Prediction: Pliskova in 3
Damian:
Pliskova seems to have dealt well with the Rome final double bagel loss. Surprisingly, she also won this pair’s only match on clay. On this surface, her movement is always easier to expose, though, and that encounter at Madrid 2018 could be a bit of an outlier. Really tight.
Prediction: Stephens in 3
Nurein:
Stephens leads the head-to-head, but they haven’t played since 2018. A lot has happened in that time. The American’s ranking has been in free fall, while Pliskova has cemented her spot in The top 10. This match should be on the Czech’s racket. If she stays true to her roots, Stephens will have little success to get into the contest.
Prediction: Pliskova in 2
Main Photo from Getty.
