The tennis tournaments at the Paris Olympics continue with eight second-round men’s singles matches on Monday. The quest for Gold features some of the top players in the sport. As always, we here at LastWordOnTennis will predict all matches for you. The other article features Novak Djokovic vs. Rafael Nadal. Damian Kust, Manuel Traquete, and Jordan Reynolds predict these matches. Who do you think will move on to Round 3?
Paris Olympics Men’s Day 3 Predictions
Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Dan Evans
Damian
This season has been extremely tough for Evans and he will soon have that monumental task of trying to defend 500 points for winning Washington. He usually steps up in team-based scenarios though, but even his opener against Echargui was quite difficult. Right now and on clay, he’s just not at the level of Tsitsipas at all.
Prediction: Tsitsipas in 2
Manuel
Tsitsipas is one of the best clay court players in the world and he has won all 8 sets he has played against Evans in his career in routine fashion. It’s a very comfortable matchup for him, even more so on clay.
Prediction: Tsitsipas in 2
Jordan
Evans created headlines for his extraordinary comeback alongside Andy Murray in the men’s doubles, where they saved five match points to win. However, he struggles on clay in singles. Tsitsipas’ entire game is better on the dirt, and I do not foresee him having problems getting to the next round.
Prediction: Tsitsipas in 2
Matteo Arnaldi vs Dominik Koepfer
Damian
Arnaldi is dominating in the Fils matchup with a 5-0 lead by now, but there are many other rivalries where he doesn’t quite play with the same clarity of thought. Koepfer might be a good example for that as the Italian will have to dictate play more here and restrict himself from overhitting, the opponent won’t do it for him. He’s so talented, maybe he figures it out.
Prediction: Arnaldi in 3
Manuel
Koepfer won a three tiebreak tussle against Raonic today, while Arnaldi was far more impressive against Fils; he is also generally the better player of the two and the more comfortable on clay. He should be able to keep advancing here, with Nadal or Djokovic awaiting him in the next round.
Prediction: Arnaldi in 2
Jordan
Arnaldi possess the greater firepower in this matchup, but Koepfer is a tricky customer, especially on clay. The German’s defense is strong and tough to breach. But I doubt it is quite good enough to hold off Arnaldi over three sets.
Prediction: Arnaldi in 3
Tomas Martin Etcheverry vs Roman Safiullin
Damian
Safiullin picked up a pretty unexpected win over Tabilo given the form of both players going into the event (and the surface they were playing at). Etcheverry is more reliable than the Chilean though and might be more tricky to outrally. This is probably the match where it turns out the Safiullin clay magic was very brief.
Prediction: Etcheverry in 2
Manuel
Safiullin had a great first round win against Tabilo but on clay Etcheverry is the better player of the two and should have a bit of an edge here, even if it should be a very close match.
Prediction: Etcheverry in 3
Jordan
Safiullin will try and be aggressive as always. Yet, he does that most effectively on hard courts, and Etcheverry is a great player on clay. The Argentine is likely to control this match with his formidable forehand and impressive athleticism.
Prediction: Etcheverry in 2
Carlos Alcaraz vs Tallon Griekspoor
Damian
Alcaraz gets a decent test here after the Habib round one and let’s remember that Griekspoor almost took down Zverev at the French Open (led 4-1 in the 5th set with a double break). The Spaniard is a much more versatile player though and should have plenty of tricks to neutralize Griekspoor’s serve and forehand firepower even if he gets hot.
Prediction: Alcaraz in 2
Manuel
Griekspoor has come close to beating top players before, showing that he has the level, but maybe not quite the mentality as we saw against Zverev at Roland Garros this year. If he plays well, he could cause some issues to Alcaraz but the Spaniard should come through either way.
Prediction: Alcaraz in 2
Jordan
Griekspoor showed how dangerous he is while pushing Alexander Zverev to five sets at the French Open this year. Alcaraz’s greater ability to get on the front foot in the rallies makes this a tougher task. Griekspoor dictated a lot of the points against Zverev, but he is unlikely to get that luxury here.
Prediction: Alcaraz in 2
Main Photo Credit: Susan Mullane – USA TODAY Sports
