Spaniards take center stage on day 7 of the French Open with Pablo Carreno Busta vs Roberto Bautista Agut, and Roberto Carballes Baena looking to upset Grigor Dimitrov. Our panel of Damian Kust and Yesh Ginsburg offer their predictions.
Novak Djokovic vs Daniel Elahi Galan
Damian: Galan took advantage of a lucky loser spot and played a near-perfect match against Tennys Sandgren. Hard to expect him to keep that level up and let’s be honest – Galan’s near-perfect level is not enough to match even a mediocre performance from the top seed. Djokovic in 3
Yesh: Galan has done well to get this far, and he looked somewhat impressive in his dismissal of Tennys Sandgren in the second round. But he’s not going to challenge Djokovic here. Djokovic in 3
Marton Fucsovics vs Thiago Monteiro
Damian: Marton Fucsovics is more experienced on that level, while this is a first third round of a Grand Slam for Thiago Monteiro. This should be very close, but I’ll go with the debutant who has been out there with a competent clay-court game for a couple of years now and has been playing great tennis since the past week at the Forli Challenger. Monteiro in 5
Yesh: Fucsovics is a solid player who can be a tough out under any circumstances. He’s playing well here, and while I would usually favor Monteiro on clay, but the Hungarian looks better in Paris so far. Fucsovics in 4
Pablo Carreno Busta vs Roberto Bautista Agut
Damian: The conditions this year seem to suit both, giving him something with a little more resemblance to hard courts than the typical clay in Paris. They also split their clay-court meetings (although one of them was 9 years ago). It will be a physically exhausting baseline battle and I trust Bautista Agut just a tiny bit more with his more defensive style. Bautista Agut in 5
Yesh: Both of these Spaniards are playing so well so far. It’s hard to know what will separate the two. Bautista Agut has the better overall game, but Carreno Busta moves better on clay. This is going to be a tight one. Carreno Busta in 5
Roberto Carballes Baena vs Grigor Dimitrov
Damian: It was a great performance of making Shapovalov play the extra shot from Roberto Carballes Baena. But after these five hours of grueling, dramatic tennis, I don’t trust his fitness in another match that will look pretty similar. Dimitrov has less power than Shapovalov but can construct points even better. Dimitrov in 4
Yesh: Carballes Baena overcame Denis Shapovalov in an incredible fifth set on Thursday, but it will be a tall order to replicate that success against Dimitrov, who has been playing well in Paris. Dimitrov in 4
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