It is set to be an action-packed day one at the French Open with 20 first-round matches on the slate in Paris. As always, we here at LWOT will be offering our predictions for every match, including Ons Jabeur vs Magda Linette, Clara Burel vs Maria Sakkari, Kaia Kanepi vs Garbine Muguruza and Bernarda Pera vs Jil Teichmann. But who will advance?
French Open Day 1 Predictions
Kristina Mladenovic vs Leylah Fernandez
Jim: Kristina Mladenovic is one of several players whose declines are hard to understand. She once looked certain to establish herself as a top-ten stalwart, but comes into this year’s French Open ranked 110th in the world. Leylah Fernandez has endured some difficult moments since reaching the US Open final last season and clay is not her best surface, but she should have enough to get past the struggling Frenchwoman here.
Prediction: Fernandez in 3
Jakub: Mladenovic has had a terrible season with a 2-10 record, defeating only Tessah Andrianjafitrimo and Mayar Sherif in 2022. Outside of her one quarterfinal, the 29-year-old’s past French Open results have not been amazing. Fernandez is not at her best on clay but should be good enough to beat Mladenovic at this point in her career.
Prediction: Fernandez in 2
Damian: Mladenovic has always been a streaky player, but there’s nothing to suggest that her poor run of form is going to stop. She’s played well in front of the Paris crowd in the past, but her year so far has been dreadful (two wins and 10 losses).
Prediction: Fernandez in 2
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Aliaksandra Sasnovich vs Wang Xinyu
Jim: One can never be quite sure what to expect from Aliaksandra Sasnovich, but she has been playing well of late, reaching the second round in Rome and Strasbourg as a qualifier. Wang Xinyu, meanwhile, clearly has a bright future and impressed in winning an ITF title in La Bisbal D’Emporda, but this might just be a challenge too far too soon for the Chinese young gun.
Prediction: Sasnovich in 3
Jakub: Sasnovich has reached the second round in four out of her last five Roland Garros appearances but never further. The 28-year-old is 6-3 on red clay this season with her best win being over Veronika Kudermetova. Wang struggled on the main tour this year but impressed at a 100k ITF in La Bisbal D’Emporda, winning her first clay title. That result makes this quite tough to predict but I will lean on the side of experience here with Sasnovich
Prediction: Sasnovich in 3
Damian: Sasnovich can be a very dangerous floater in Grand Slam draws. In Strasbourg, she only barely lost to Angelique Kerber. Wang, meanwhile, won a 100K ITF two weeks ago and has potential, but her level there was a little all over the place.
Prediction: Sasnovich in 3
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Carole Monet vs Karolina Muchova
Jim: Karolina Muchova’s all-court game makes her well-suited to all three surfaces, even if clay is probably her worst. But the Czech may need to be at her best up against French wildcard Carole Monnet, who will no doubt be desperate to impress on her Grand Slam debut. Ultimately, however, this looks likely to be a bridge too far too soon for the Frenchwoman at this stage in her career.
Prediction: Muchova in 2
Jakub: Muchova has only played five matches this year after coming back from injury. The clay results have not been great, though the Czech looked really good in a tight loss to Belinda Bencic in Madrid. Muchova’s level should be still way over Monnet’s as the French wild card has been mediocre on the ITF tour this year. The two times the 20-year-old has faced main tour-level opposition, she lost in straight sets to Stefanie Voegele and Elise Mertens, who was coming back from injury.
Prediction: Muchova in 2
Damian: Muchova has only played three events this year, but the Czech has always been great at peaking for the Slams. We’ll see if this can lead to another deep run from her, but Monnet is a favorable draw, as the young Frenchwoman is yet to do damage on the WTA Tour.
Prediction: Muchova in 2
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Coco Gauff vs Rebecca Marino
Jim: Coco Gauff has not quite kicked on as might have been expected in recent years, but that failure is of course relative. She has already achieved more aged 18 than most players do over the course of their careers. If she is a big outsider for the title, she should have more than enough to get past Rebecca Marino, not withstanding the Canadian’s impressive run through the qualifying.
Prediction: Gauff in 3
Jakub: Gauff’s clay season has been just okay this year, beating players she should beat and losing to players she would be expected to lose to. The 18-year-old will have some pressure on her though as she defends quarterfinals points from last year. Marino was a pleasant surprise in qualifying, dropping only 12 games against Paula Ormaechea, Katarina Zavatska and Seone Mendez. In her last main draw appearance here in 2011, the Canadian reached the third round, and I have a sneaky feeling that she might pull off the upset here.
Prediction: Marino in 3
Damian: Marino has been phenomenal at slam qualifying recently, but winning rounds in the main draw has been a much tougher challenge for the Canadian. Someone as solid as Gauff (especially on clay, where her forehand is less of a target) seems out of her range.
Prediction: Gauff in 2
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