Two of the ATP’s most talented young guns Casper Ruud and Alejandro Davidovich Fokina have a third round match in Paris at the French Open, while John Isner seeks an upset against Stefanos Tsitsipas. We have all of your predictions for third round action including for Reilly Opelka vs Daniil Medvedev.
Stefanos Tsitsipas vs John Isner
Damian Kust: Other than a straightforward victory for the Greek in Acapulco this year, 7 out of 9 sets between them ended in tie-breaks. Tsitsipas’s backhand return rarely passes the test in this matchup and while on clay he will stand further back, it will allow Isner to serve-and-volley more efficiently. It’s a deadly matchup but Tsitsipas probably lures the American into enough baseline rallies, just enough. Tsitsipas in 5
Yesh Ginsburg: John Isner is loving the clay. It’s playing well for him and his serve is clicking. Tsitsipas is not at his best, which is something he can’t afford in this match. Isner in 4
Casper Ruud vs Alejandro Davidovich Fokina
Damian: Taking out Ruud will require an absolutely fantastic performance and I’m not positive Davidovich Fokina has it in him yet. The Norwegian is merciless off the forehand side and fixed a lot of the issues his weaker wing had. He’s becoming a clay-court machine and most of his opponents can’t compete with that. Ruud in 4
Yesh: Davidovich Fokina is a talent who should reach second weeks of Majors in the future, but he’s about to run into the buzzsaw that is Casper Ruud. Ruud in 3
Marcos Giron vs Christian Garin
Damian: Garin has been one of the world’s best players in smaller clay-court events but he’s had some trouble showing it on the big stage. Saving two match points against McDonald might help him work out these mental issues and the match against a surprise package like Giron could bring a breath of air after two solid workouts already. For a clay-courter of this class, there’s no excuse if he loses this. Garin in 3
Yesh: This fun matchup of names should be a fun matchup on the court. Giron is playing really well, while Garin isn’t. Garin likely should have lost to Mackenzie McDonald in the last round, so I can’t trust him here. Giron in 4
Kei Nishikori vs Henri Laaksonen
Damian: Nishikori added another two victories to his insane five-set record, fighting through physical issues in both matches. This gives a slight chance to Laaksonen, who played something close to the match of his life against Bautista Agut. This really wouldn’t be that crazy of an upset but if the Swiss was to have a shot at taking it, I’d advise him not to go five. Nishikori in 5
Yesh: Nishikori got a huge break when Henri Laaksonen upset Roberto Bautista Agut. The Japanese star has needed five sets to win his first two matches. He won’t need five in this one. Nishikori in 3
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