After a rocket of a Sunday start that saw Stefanos Tsitsipas thoroughly tested while Hubert Hurkacz and Karen Khachanov had to go five sets in their openers, Day 2 at the French Open will see top contenders Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz begin their campaigns. As always, we here at LWOT will preview and predict every match. Will we see a first-round upset?
French Open Day 2 Predictions
Stan Wawrinka vs Albert Ramos-Vinolas
Jack Edward: For all of Stan Wawrinka’s struggles in his comeback, he has generally arrived at events raring to go, only really tiring later down the line. He’ll have the physicality to take this one despite Albert Ramos-Vinolas’s solid clay court game.
Prediction: Wawrinka in 4
Nurein Ahmed: Ramos-Vinolas has lost a lot of his ground stroke power and rally tolerance this season. It looks like age is finally catching up with him. The same could be said of Wawrinka, but the Swiss has retained his class even while not playing so well. Advantage Wawrinka.
Prediction: Wawrinka in 4
Damian Kust: Purely on their level right now, Wawrinka should be cleaning this one up easily. Something just tells you it will be more complicated than that, especially with how much he struggled in the longer format in Australia. He should pull through eventually though, he’s been playing well but not really getting the results.
Prediction: Wawrinka in 5
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Borna Coric vs Federico Coria
Jack: Up until recently, this could have been a tricky first round for Borna Coric. The respective forms of both players, however, suggest Coric shouldn’t have too much trouble bossing the steady game of Federico Coria.
Prediction: Coric in 3
Nurein: Coric has turned the tide after a couple of months on a freefall. He’s played some great tennis on the European clay and I expect him to overwhelm the Argentine who is winless in five matches.
Prediction: Coric in 3
Damian: Maybe an upset alert if Coria is in peak form, but that hasn’t been the case. He doesn’t seem to be fit at the moment and will likely not give Coric a tough time here. The Croat is more dangerous in faster clay conditions like Madrid, but he’s a solid player who’s never that easy to take out.
Prediction: Coric in 3
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Shang Juncheng vs Juan Pablo Varillas
Jack: This one will likely be close. Juan Pablo Varillas is a good enough clay court player to play above his form and the ceiling of Juncheng Shang hasn’t quite been made clear. Shang surprised most by coming through qualifying with only two clay court matches on the season—it’s tough not to get caught up in the hype surrounding the former junior world #1.
Prediction: Shang in 5
Nurein: There will be plenty of interest for the current crop of Chinese tennis players with three men headlining the main draw this week. One of them is Shang Juncheng who came through qualifying. Varillas retired hurt in Lyon, but if he is fully fit here, he’ll have this match under control and exorcise his demons from last year’s heartbreak
Prediction: Varillas in 4
Damian: This seems like a lot of fun. Shang won just one match before the Australian Open and Roland Garros, but that was mostly due to physical issues. Now that we see him in full flight, he keeps showing the progress he’s made over the off-season. Against an out-of-form Varillas, he’ll have his winning chances.
Prediction: Shang in 5
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Carlos Alcaraz vs Flavio Cobolli
Jack: The playbook against Carlos Alcaraz is becoming clearer. Fabian Marozsan showcased how to use big returns to take time away from Alcaraz at all costs. Fortunately for the world #1, Flavio Cobolli probably doesn’t have the consistent quality to carry out this game plan.
Prediction: Alcaraz in 3
Nurein: Alcaraz has the chance to cement his name among the greats this fortnight and this is a harmless opening match. Cobolli loves the dirt, but with all due respect to him, he is not cut from the same piece of cloth as the Spaniard.
Prediction: Alcaraz in 3
Damian: There were a few qualifiers who could have been dangerous to Alcaraz in round one, but Cobolli probably isn’t among them. He’s clearly improved his disposition a lot this spring and is a fine prospect, but it’s hard to imagine him redlining the way you need to dispatch the World No. 1 over the course of a best-of-five match.
Prediction: Alcaraz in 3
Main Photo Credit: Susan Mullane-USA TODAY Sports
