The courts in Bercy are looking painfully slow, especially for an indoor venue. This will be a massive help to some in the draw and a huge hindrance to others. Let’s take a look at some matches in detail and see who will prevail from these match-ups. As always, we here at LWOT will be offering our prediction for every match on the schedule, including Pierre-Hugues Herbert vs Carlos Alcaraz, Marin Cilic vs Alejandro Davidovich Fokina and Mikael Ymer vs Karen Khachanov. But who will advance?
ATP Paris Day 2 Predictions
Tommy Paul vs Jan-Lennard Struff
Head-to-head: Paul 1-0 Struff
The previous meeting between this pair was on clay earlier this year. Whilst usually I would say this has little bearing on an indoor meeting, the type of game that I think will play well on these courts is similar to the type I would favour on the dirt. Paul has the more rounded game of the two, despite them sitting next door to each other in the rankings (#53 vs #54 respectively). It is the American that is going in the right direction though with a winning record this season, whereas the German has lost more matches than he has won. For a big server his indoor record is poor as well so it all points to a win for Paul for me.
Prediction: Paul in 2
Grigor Dimitrov vs Richard Gasquet
Head-to-head: Gasquet 6-3 Dimitrov
An interesting dynamic here. Gasquet has been the recipient of a wildcard here and often performs well in France, but not overwhelmingly so. At this particular event Gasquet is 15-15 win/loss, a record that is much bettered by his opponent. Dimitrov reached the semifinals here the last time it was held in 2019 and has looked better again of late. He has also wrestled away the advantage Gasquet once had in this head-to-head. The Frenchman won his first five against Dimitrov before the Bulgarian won three in a row. I think that Dimitrov is in the better form at the moment and on this slower surface I expect his exceptional movement will be too good for Gasquet who won’t be able get his baseline game past the Dimitrov defences.
Prediction: Dimitrov in 2
Novak Djokovic vs Marton Fucsovics
Head-to-head: Djokovic 3-0 Fucsovics
One man who will probably be delighted at the conditions cooked up in Paris will be the world number #1. Having had a good break, mentally and physically, it will be interesting to see how Djokovic comes back to the court following the US Open. He certainly couldn’t have handpicked a much better situation, slower indoor courts are probably his number one choice and he plays an opponent that rarely troubles him. Fucsovics is a solid pro, he has actually won two sets in the three matches they have played, but is not a player who has outstanding weapons that will severely test the Serbian. We may well see some rust in Djokovic’s game but I think a win and a good workout is what we can expect from this second round match.
Prediction: Djokovic in 2
Main Photo from Getty Images
