There should be no shortage of entertaining tennis on day two at the French Open with 24 matches on the schedule in Paris. As ever, 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, Novak Djokovic vs Yoshihito Nishioka, Dan Evans vs Francisco Cerundolo and Sebastian Korda vs John Millman. But who will reach the round of 64?
French Open Day 2 Predictions
Brandon Nakashima vs Kamil Majchrzak
Damian: Brandon Nakashima defeated Kamil Majchrzak in Rome, but the American still hasn’t taken his clay game anywhere. It should be a close match again, perhaps a slight edge goes to the Pole as he’s a much better mover on this surface and picked up some confidence in Geneva last week.
Prediction: Majchrzak in 5
Yesh: Nakashima is an American to watch out for in the future. And he doesn’t mind the clay as much as some others do when first transitioning from college. I think he’ll surprise some here.
Prediction: Nakashima in 3
Anish: Nakashima comes into the match with just one main draw win on clay this year, which came against a guy ranked outside 250. Needless to say, that Nakashima is in a low patch right now. On the other side of the net, Kamil Majchrzak hasn’t been giving spectacular performances on clay either. The duo are fresh from playing a match against each other just two weeks ago at the Rome Open qualifying, where Nakashima won in straight sets. The Pole should be able to level the head-to-head after a close match.
Prediction: Majchrzak in 5
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Cameron Norrie vs Manuel Guinard
Damian: Can you beat Cameron Norrie by being more solid than him? Manuel Guinard will probably try and, most likely, fail. The Frenchman would have to really step out of his comfort zone to take this, he’s also not nearly as mentally solid as Norrie and might not be ready for the physical toll of such a win.
Prediction: Norrie in 3
Yesh: Norrie is now a top player, even on clay, and Guinard has neither the game nor pedigree to make this a challenge.
Prediction: Norrie in 3
Anish: Norrie, with his unique strokes, is one of the few players who can do well on all surfaces. He is coming into the match following a title run at the Lyon Open, where he had finished runner-up last year. His opponent, Manuel Guinard will be looking to have a breakthrough at his home slam, which seems very hard to happen.
Prediction: Norrie in 3
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Jordan Thompson vs Rafael Nadal
Damian: Even if Rafael Nadal’s foot acts up, it’s just hard to imagine him losing to Jordan Thompson at Roland Garros. The Australian doesn’t have anything to hurt him with on this surface and it should be smooth-sailing unless the pain would get like really unbearable. But even in that case, we know Nadal would try his best.
Prediction: Nadal in 3
Yesh: It’s Nadal in Paris. Do I need to explain more?
Prediction: Nadal in 3
Anish: Thompson is going through a rough patch to say the least, and that is not something you want to be going through when facing none other than the ‘King of clay’. The only concern for Nadal will be the manner in which his last match against Shapovalov ended, where he was practically limping between shots towards the end. All said and done, it will not be an extreme exaggeration if one says that Nadal bowing out in the first round at Roland Garros is analogous to the Sun rising from the West.
Prediction: Nadal in 3
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Cristian Garin vs Tommy Paul
Damian: Cristian Garin finally had a good run in Rome. Last year, the Chilean was coming into this slam as everyone’s dark horse and while he got pretty deep, his level was a disappointment. Perhaps right now he’s actually going to do better here, given there’s not that much pressure on him anymore. Tommy Paul is no pushover though, as he’s much better on the dirt than most Americans.
Prediction: Garin in 4
Yesh: This should quietly be an amazing matchup. Paul is seeded with impressive consistency but nothing special. Garin has special talent, but he hasn’t played like it in a while. I’ll take potential over consistency, though it might be a mistake.
Prediction: Garin in 4
Anish: Cristian Garin was struggling to get a win on his favourite surface. But his last outing at the Rome Masters, where he made the quarterfinal, may just have been a pivotal moment in his warm up for the Roland Garros. His opponent, Tommy Paul is not necessarily one of the best clay court players. If firing, Garin will show why he was ranked top-20.
Prediction: Garin in 4
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