Pablo Andujar is far from the most famous player in tennis but he’s carved out a solid career for himself and takes on Stefano Travaglia in round 1 of the French Open. Steen Kirby and Damian Kust offer their predictions for this and all of the other day 1 matches.
Pablo Andujar vs Stefano Travaglia
Damian: This is an underrated first-round match, one between two very good clay-court specialists. They both did pretty well in recent weeks but Andujar has more big-stage experience and doesn’t have as many matches in his recent history where he wasn’t mentally up to the task. Andujar in 5
Steen: The pair have split h2h meetings both on clay, but Andujar won their recent challenger tour matchup and is solid on the surface against players of Travaglia’s level. The Spaniard should shine. Andujar in 4
Federico Coria vs Jason Jung
Damian: Jung surprised in his qualifying campaign, showing that he can be a factor also on clay. They met at the US Open as Jung led 2-0 and 4-0 in the third before throwing that away and retiring with an injury. While clay is Coria’s kingdom, Jung will be helped by having already played three matches here, in these conditions. That might be the deciding factor. Jung in 5
Steen: Given the surface Coria should be the favorite in a battle of two journeyman ranked outside the top 100 at this time. Coria in 4
Benjamin Bonzi vs Emil Ruusuvuori
Damian: Not entirely convinced by Emil Ruusuvuori on clay, but he did make a Challenger final on it last year. Benjamin Bonzi quietly played through the qualifying and I’m pretty confident he’ll provide a challenge. It will be a big test of the Fin’s clay-court prowess. Ruusuvuori in 4
Steen: The qualifier Bonzi is lesser known but neither player is world class at this point in time and he is at home against Ruusuvuori, who doesn’t prefer clay. With that said, Ruusuvuori is ranked much higher for a reason. Ruusuvuori in 5
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