Men’s tennis action continues on Day 5 at the Paris Olympics as the Round of 16 kicks off and concludes with eight men’s singles matches around the Roland Garros grounds. We have a separate article featuring the other four matches, including Carlos Alcaraz vs. Roman Safiullin. As always, we at LWOT will provide our roundtable predictions for all Day 5 matches. But who will advance to the quarterfinals?
Paris Olympics Day 5 Men’s Predictions
Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Sebastian Baez
Jordan
Baez is an excellent clay court player, but he will need to be much better than the previous round, when he scraped through in a deciding set tiebreak. Tsitsipas’ firepower is likely to take him through this match. Aside from Carlos Alcaraz, he has a great chance of beating anyone left in the draw.
Prediction: Tsitsipas in 2
Ateet
Stefanos Tsitsipas demolished Dan Evans in the second round as his quest for an Olympic medal continues. He has a positive head-to-head record against Sebastian Baez but their last match was close. Baez plays his best tennis on clay but looked far from his best in the last round. There will be lots of long rallies in this match but Tsitsipas will be able to dominate through his forehand.
Prediction: Tsitsipas in 2
Damian
Baez wasn’t all that comfortable against Hassan in the second round and overall seems to be nowhere near his Golden Swing form. Even on clay, the weaponry that Tsitsipas possesses could just be a bit too much for him. Especially as he also doesn’t have many ways of putting pressure on the backhand.
Prediction: Tsitsipas in 2
Taylor Fritz vs Lorenzo Musetti
Jordan
Fritz’s improvements on clay have been impressive. That gives him a chance against Musetti, but I doubt it will be enough to take him to victory. The Italian’s game is still more complete on the dirt, although I do think Fritz has a better chance in a best of three set match.
Prediction: Musetti in 3
Ateet
This should be a fantastic matchup between two in-form players with the ability to damage each other. They recently clashed in the Wimbledon quarterfinals, with Musetti winning as an underdog on Fritz’s strongest surface. Fritz will be eager to exact retribution and harm Musetti on his best surface. However, it will not be simple, as Musetti crushed Fritz when they met on clay this year. Fritz will be the fresher of the two and will be ready for Musetti’s slices this time. This match can go either way but Musetti seems stronger to me because of his variety.
Prediction: Musetti in 3
Damian
The consistency of Musetti’s game is going up a bit after that fantastic grass season, the final in Umag, and now a couple of solid wins at the Olympics. It’s not a given that the Italian will get through Fritz as well, but he already neutralized his power in Monte Carlo and at Wimbledon. He should be at least a slight favorite to do it again.
Prediction: Musetti in 3
Daniil Medvedev vs Felix Auger-Aliassime
Jordan
Auger-Aliassime vs Medvedev: Both players have struggled on clay more than any other surface throughout their careers. However, each man played superbly in the previous round in Paris. In this matchup, I always favour Medvedev’s consistency. Getting Auger-Aliassime’s serve into play and then being rock-solid from the baseline is the best way to beat him, and Medvedev does that superbly.
Prediction: Medvedev in 2
Ateet
Medvedev has looked good so far in his two matches and will fancy his chances against Felix Auger-Aliassime. Medvedev has a 7-0 head-to-head record against the Canadian but this will be their first meeting on clay. It will be a close match but Medvedev is the more consistent of the two and should win in the end.
Prediction: Medvedev in 3
Damian
Two players who might not love clay, but they managed to convert their good draws with practically zero issues. Medvedev is the one who seems favored here with his strong defensive game likely allowing him to win most of the extended exchanges. If Auger-Aliassime can’t produce an advantage with an early aggressive play on serve, his game tends to fall apart.
Prediction: Medvedev in 2
Novak Djokovic vs Dominik Koepfer
Jordan
Although Rafael Nadal was far below his vintage best, Djokovic still played his best match of the season against the Spaniard. Koepfer is a tricky opponent on clay and will extend a lot of the rallies. However, Djokovic is an overwhelming favourite to progress in Paris.
Prediction: Djokovic in 2
Ateet
Djokovic looked at his absolute best against Rafael Nadal and was the better player throughout the match. His backhand was deadly and hardly missed any returns. His quest for an Olympic Gold continues and Dominik Koepfer doesn’t have the weapons to stop him despite getting a good win against Matteo Arnaldi.
Prediction: Djokovic in 2
Damian
Koepfer can be such a tough competitor and isn’t a pleasant opponent to face when he’s fully engaged. Djokovic’s game likely isn’t as vulnerable to that sort of playstyle as Arnaldi’s was though, so this could be all about the late-career aggression of the Serbian giving him a way of getting out of the extended rallies.
Prediction: Djokovic in 2
Main Photo Credit: Susan Mullane – USA TODAY Sports
