Day 1 at the French Open sees Roger Federer making his return to the fabled red clay of Paris for the first time since 2015, he’ll face Italian Lorenzo Sonego in one of our four featured matchups in this article. We have predictions for every match on Sunday in two other sets of articles, the first set features Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Max Marterer and the 2nd set features Kei Nishikori vs Quentin Halys. For these predictions Steen Kirby and Tracey Essex are on hand.
Roger Federer vs Lorenzo Sonego
Steen: Sonego has two quarterfinals on clay, including Monte Carlo, this Spring and he’s a capable dirtballer, Roger Federer hasn’t played at this tournament since 2015 but his clay court warm-ups have been respectable, if not amazing. Federer should ease through this match but he could end up in one or more tiebreaks. Roger Federer in 3
Tracey: Roger Federer’s return to clay showed that he’s still got it. But, on this unyielding surface, it’s always the injury risk which could sideline Federer. Lorenzo Sonego hasn’t been able to secure a win over Top 10 players, and Roland Garros won’t prove to be his first. If Roger Federer is injury-free, he wins. Federer in 3
David Goffin vs Ricardas Berankis
Steen: Berankis has a h2h win this year but clay is not his surface of choice. Goffin has had a miserable season and is far from playing top 20 tennis, but given he’s facing a fringe ATP opponent he’s still set to get the win. Goffin in 3
Tracey: The #27 seed David Goffin starts his French Open run against Ricardas Berankis. The tennis gods obviously smiled down upon him for the opening round. Lithuania’s first and only ATP Top 100 player, Berankis is finding moderate success on the Challenger Tour. But, here, at a major, Berankis is definitely out of his league and will be out after this first round match. Goffin in 3
Casper Ruud vs Ernests Gulbis
Steen: Ruud was a finalist in Houston and also posted a solid result in Rome. Gulbis has had his strongest career results in Paris and you can never count him out at the French Open, however the lack of consistency over his career has also translated to this season where he hasn’t won consecutive matches in months. Gulbis *could* win but Ruud is the safe pick. Ruud in 5
Tracey: So much undirected potential – that’s Ernests Gulbis in a nutshell. While his talent abounds, his work ethic doesn’t always. It’s Casper Ruud who’s putting in the hard work and moving up in the ranks. I never count Gulbis out because he is so ridiculously talented. But, Rudd is the worker, the mover and the one who is disciplined enough to find a way to win. Ruud in 5
Malek Jaziri vs Oscar Otte
Steen: A lucky loser, Otte has had some great success at the challenger tour level on clay and could surprise Jaziri here, who is not at his best on clay, though his results have improved this season. Otte made his slam debut in Paris last season, and this time I’ll pick him to get a win. Otte in 4
Tracey: Oscar Otte has certainly got his work cut out for him. With dismal return game stats such as 13% first serve return points won, 42% break points converted, 12% return games won, an underperforming Malek Jaziri will still prove a challenge for the German. Jaziri should have enough to get through this match. But, if prior results are any indication, the second round is usually where we will see Jaziri exit. Jaziri in 4
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