Paris Olympics Men’s Day 1 Predictions Including Daniil Medvedev vs Rinky Hijikata

The tennis tournaments at the Paris Olympics start with 15 men’s singles matches on Saturday. 64 men will begin their quest for Gold, and we’ll rapidly get to the winner in a bit over a week. As always, we here at LastWordOnTennis will predict all of the matches for you. We split the 15 matches into four articles. The other articles feature Novak Djokovic vs Matthew Ebden, Carlos Alcaraz vs Hedy Habib, and Daniil Medvedev vs Rinky Hijikata. Predicting these matches are Damian Kust, Shane Black, and Yesh Ginsburg. Who do you think will move on to Round 2?

As a special for the Olympics, we will also be predicting all of the other Day 1 matches, including doubles. We will link to our other Olympic predictions at the bottom of the article. Enjoy!

Paris Olympics Men’s Day 1 Predictions

Pavel Kotov (Neutral) vs Stan Wawrinka (Switzerland)

Damian:
Roland Garros rematch where Kotov triumphed in four sets. Wawrinka’s level is occasionally pretty decent this year, but if he doesn’t start picking up points then it won’t save him from looming retirement. He can’t do that at the Olympics and on clay will likely end up losing to the Russian again anyway.
Prediction: Kotov in 3

Shane:
Wawrinka will be motivated to make some noise for Switzerland at the Games. The best-of-two format should help the 39-year-old. Kotov will grind this match, but give me the veteran in a decider.
Prediction: Wawrinka in 3

Yesh:
Wawrinka’s last hurrah at the Olympics will be on the singles court. I expect him to get at least one win here, though a second may be pushing it.
Prediction: Wawrinka in 2

Tommy Paul (United States) vs Luciano Darderi (Italy)

Damian:
This seems pretty even on clay, especially with Darderi enjoying such a stellar breakout season. Paul is absolutely fine on the surface as well, but will not reach the heights his game can get to in other conditions. The Italian should be in a nice match rhythm after the last two weeks and has a good shot at the upset here.
Prediction: Darderi in 3

Shane:
Paul holding a Top 10 seed at the Olympics is something no one expected a few years ago. He has proven to be incredibly consistent, and his athleticism and ball-striking allow him to thrive on all surfaces. Darderi, at 22, is playing the best tennis of his career at the moment. This should be a great match, but I’ll take the American who has proven he can hold his nerve in tense moments.
Prediction: Paul in 3

Yesh:
Paul is right on the cusp of breaking into the Top 10, and unlike other top Americans he doesn’t hate the clay. Darderi is rising fast and loves the clay. I think Paul’s powerful game could get him through, but this should be close.
Prediction: Paul in 3

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Robin Haase (Netherlands) vs Sebastian Ofner (Austria)

Damian:
Haase used to be great in singles, but in the last couple of seasons before switching to doubles he was mostly serve-botting anyway. Someone playing with almost no margin off the ground like Ofner is the perfect matchup for him in a way. He still seems completely outmatched here at this stage of his career, though.
Prediction: Ofner in 2

Shane:
Haase, a former Top 40 player, has not played much tennis over the past 18 months. Ofner is a terrific clay-courter and should be able to grind down the 37-year-old.
Prediction: Ofner in 2

Yesh:
Haase is well past his prime and hasn’t really been a factor on Tour since well before COVID. Ofner is a decent journeyman-level player, which is better than Haase right now.
Prediction: Ofner in 2

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Daniil Medvedev (Neutral) vs Rinky Hijikata (Australia)

Damian:
Medvedev’s results at this venue (and on clay in general) have been up and down over the years, but it seems like he landed a very nice draw here. Hijikata doesn’t perform on this surface either and is 1-5 for the season on the dirt. It’s tough to see what the Australian could do to hurt the No. 4 seed here.
Prediction: Medvedev in 2

Shane:
Medvedev is the definition of consistency. He hasn’t broken through on the biggest stages this season, but his 9-4 record on the clay this season should give him confidence in Paris.
Prediction: Medvedev in 2

Yesh:
Medvedev’s game shouldn’t work on clay. But it does. He just reached the French Open semifinals, and should be very likely to breeze past Hijikata here.
Prediction: Medvedev in 2