The 2020 French Open is here, and Alex De Minaur vs Marco Cecchinato is a big match on day 1. Steen Kirby and Damian Kust offer their predictions for this and all of the other day 1 matches.
Alex De Minaur vs Marco Cecchinato
Damian: Cecchinato still hasn’t won a Grand Slam match besides that semifinal run, but this is a great opportunity to change it. De Minaur has been improving his clay-court game but Cecchinato was mightily impressive in the qualifying event. Cecchinato in 4
Steen: Cecchinato is 7-1 on clay in his last 8 matches and has found some surprising form on the clay. De Minaur lost his only match on clay post US Open and this is not his best surface. With that said, he’s the better player overall and should edge this over best of 5. De Minaur in 5
Jurij Rodionov vs Jeremy Chardy
Damian: Another qualifier that should have a decent chance to win. Jeremy Chardy can be a bit of a hit or miss and if he’s more into the latter on Sunday, Rodionov’s clay-court game is all about using that to win. Rodionov in 5
Steen: Chardy is the home player but Rodionov is solid on clay and his form is better. I’ll go with the younger qualifier to advance here. Rodionov in 4
Dominik Koepfer vs Antoine Hoang
Damian: The German has been doing extremely well recently and he showed no signs of slowing down in Hamburg. He’s played a lot of top-level tennis lately but also got a few days of rest. He’s way out of Hoang’s league at the moment. Koepfer in 3
Steen: Koepfer may be battling fatigue, but if he’s fit he’s a heavy favorite against the home player Hoang. Koepfer’s hot streak of form won’t end quite yet. Koepfer in 3
Tomas Machac vs Taylor Fritz
Damian: Machac is a very talented 19-year-old but this might be a bit too early for him to take out Fritz. The American improved on clay a lot in the past few years and is now among the best US players on that surface. Machac will give him a fight though. Fritz in 4
Steen: The teen qualifier Machac has plenty of promise and Fritz lost both of his warm up matches on clay, but an upset would still come as a major surprise. Expect Machac to present a challenge but fold over a best of 5 format. Fritz in 5
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