Paris Olympics Men’s Day 1 Predictions Including Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Zizou Bergs

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

Taylor Fritz (United States) vs Alexander Bublik (Kazakhstan)

Damian:
Tough to say if Fritz is lucky with the draw here. On the one hand, Bublik is the highest-ranked unseeded player. But half his clay performances feature some half-tanking and a lack of motivation on display. Gotta give a slight nod to the American, even if he’s not much better on this surface than a motivated version of Bublik.
Prediction: Fritz in 3

Shane:
This has a chance to be one of the best matches of the first round. Forehands will be firing back and forth, but I give the slight edge to the American. Fritz holds his nerve better than Bublik and should be able to lean on his serve in any tiebreaks.
Prediction: Fritz in 3

Yesh:
On grass, this would be an amazing match. Fritz isn’t quite as good on clay as on other surfaces. Bublik, on the other hand, is significantly worse.
Prediction: Fritz in 2

Kei Nishikori (Japan) vs Jack Draper (Great Britain)

Damian:
Nishikori has been withdrawing from a lot of events this year and when he does show up, he’s out of rhythm but still relatively dangerous on pure natural talent. Seems like this draw might be a little too tough for him–Draper’s clay game isn’t that empty with the heavy lefty topspin he can produce on the forehand.
Prediction: Draper in 2

Shane:
Since returning from injury, Draper has heated up with a title in Stuttgart. He has one of the best serves on tour, though, it will be somewhat neutralized on the clay. It will be nice to see Nishikori back on the court, but he lacks the form for me to pick him against a talent like Draper.
Prediction: Draper in 3

Yesh:
Neither man loves clay, but Nishikori seems a bit more comfortable on it. And he’s more used to high-pressure situations than the Brit.
Prediction: Nishikori in 3

Embed from Getty Images

Nuno Borges (Portugal) vs Mariano Navone (Argentina)

Damian:
This should be fun and seems very evenly matched. Borges just picked up his maiden ATP Tour title in Bastad, but we have to remember his draw was pretty weak there until the final. Navone still seems like the significantly better clay-courter who’ll just have to rediscover some of his magic from earlier in the season to win.
Prediction: Navone in 3

Shane:
Borges won his first title last week in Bastad and holds a career-high ranking of World No. 42. Navone had an incredible start to the season and broke into the Top 30 in June. However, he is just 2-8 since early May. Give me the in-form Borges in this one.
Prediction: Borges in 3

Yesh:
Both of these men are playing the best tennis of their careers this year, and both are most comfortable on clay. Navone has more future upside, but he hasn’t reached his full potential yet and is currently in a minor slump. Flip a coin and enjoy the match.
Prediction: Borges in 3

Embed from Getty Images

Stefanos Tsitsipas (Greece) vs Zizou Bergs (Belgium)

Damian:
At the Australian Open they played one excellent set before Bergs suffered from the extreme heat. He had a decent shot at the upset there as he’s got the tools to put pressure on the Tsitsipas one-hander. It’s much more tricky here as clay makes the Greek a much more multi-dimensional player who’s less vulnerable to someone exposing his frailties.
Prediction: Tsitsipas in 2

Shane:
Tsitsipas has had a quiet year, but he can turn that around with a medal at the Games. Bergs is always a threat to battle against top players, but the Greek has too much firepower on the clay.
Prediction: Tsitsipas in 3

Yesh:
Tsitsipas has reached the French Open final on these courts. He should be a threat to win a medal here. Bergs won’t even slow him down at all.
Prediction: Tsitsipas in 2