With 24 matches on the slate, expect there to be plenty of entertaining tennis for the fans at Roland Garros. As always, we here at LWOT will be offering our predictions for every match on the schedule, including Atilla Balazs vs Marin Cilic, Stan Wawrinka vs Corentin Moutet, Jordan Thompson vs Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic vs Yoshihito Nishioka and Sebastian Korda vs John Millman. But who will reach the second round at the French Open?
French Open Day 2 Predictions
Nikoloz Basilashvili vs Maxime Cressy
Damian: Nikoloz Basilashvili likes to have time on the ball and Maxime Cressy will give him the opposite of that, also practically no rhythm in the rallies. The American has a good skill set to trouble Basilashvili, but can he do that on clay? It’s unlikely but with a serve like that, keeping it close is certainly possible.
Prediction: Basilashvili in 4
Yesh: Basilashvili has been incredibly mercurial, as always, this year. Meanwhile, Cressy’s game is awkward enough to frustrate even the most mentally consistent of players.
Prediction: Cressy in 4
Jakub: Basilashvili finally started to get some wins outside of Doha once clay season hit but still failed to win back-to-back matches. He gets a nice draw in Cressy though whose style of play is very hard to execute successfully on red clay. The Georgian not going through here would be a pretty big surprise.
Prediction: Basilashvili in 3
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Dan Evans vs Francisco Cerundolo
Damian: This seems very tight, Francisco Cerundolo is obviously the more natural clay courter, but he hasn’t done well since his big run at Miami. Dan Evans has to play a completely different style on this surface, but in recent times he’s been pretty good at working it out. Cerundolo has way more potential on the dirt, but it’s not going to be easy for him at all against the Brit.
Cerundolo in 5
Yesh: Evans is solid as ever, while Cerundolo is a rising player who can’t yet play his best for entire matches, let alone tournaments. Over best-of-five, Evans’ advantages should come through.
Prediction: Evans in 5
Jakub: Evans is yet to win a match at Roland Garros, main draw or qualifying. The clay season is almost always a wash for the Brit, the best result for him this year was pulling off a couple of wins in Madrid where the conditions suit him a bit better. Cerundolo also did not have the clay season he imagined after he burst onto the scene with his Miami semifinals run. The Argentine went 3-4 on European clay but his game suits the surface so much more than Evans’.
Prediction: Cerundolo in 5
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Miomir Kecmanovic vs Tomas Martin Etcheverry
Damian: It remains to be seen if Tomas Martin Etcheverry will end up making a lasting impact on the ATP Tour, but that forehand is a huge weapon that might allow him to do so. It’s a pretty brutal draw though as Miomir Kecmanovic has been making so many deep tour-level runs this year and might be eyeing another one here.
Prediction: Kecmanovic in 3
Yesh: Kecmanovic goes big or goes home, and recently his big game has been finding the court more often than not. That’s bad news for Etcheverry, who’s generally weaker than Kecmanovic to begin with.
Prediction: Kecmanovic in 4
Jakub: Kecmanovic continues to have a strong season with a 25-11 record, going 6-4 on European clay but not suffering a single bad loss. Etcheverry has been one of the best clay court players on the Challenger tour over the past 12 months but he did not show much in his main tour appearances this year. The Serb is my dark horse pick so I do not expect him to stumble here.
Prediction: Kecmanovic in 4
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Arthur Rinderknech vs Alexander Bublik
Damian: Arthur Rinderknech has barely played on clay this year, but his performance against Holger Rune in Lyon was quite good. It’s not a bad surface for the Frenchman as it allows him to protect his backhand and have more time on the ball. Alexander Bublik plays a very decent match on clay every once in a while but mostly doesn’t show up at all.
Prediction: Rinderknech in 3
Yesh: This should be a great match between two strong servers and funky players. Ultimately, on clay, I’ll take Bublik’s more dynamic game.
Prediction: Bublik in 3
Jakub: Rinderknech pulled out some nice clay results on the main tour last year, reaching a semifinal and two quarterfinals all as a qualifier, but did not win a match at either of the two clay events he played this year. Bublik has not fared much better on the surface this season, going 1-5 with his only win coming against a rusty Stan Wawrinka. This is pretty much a coin flip and I will lean on the side of the Frenchman on his home turf.
Prediction: Rinderknech in 5
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