There should be plenty of entertaining tennis on day two at the French Open, with 24 first-round matches on the slate. As always, we here at LWOT will be offering our predictions for every match on the slate, including Casper Ruud vs Benoit Paire, Jannik Sinner vs Pierre-Hugues Herbert, Alexander Bublik vs Daniil Medvedev, Sam Querrey vs John Isner and Lorenzo Musetti vs David Goffin. Making their picks for this group of matches are Jim Smith, Yesh Ginsburg and Damian Kust.
French Open Day 2 Predictions
Roger Federer vs Denis Istomin
Jim: Roger Federer may be the favourite heading into this match, but it may not be entirely straightforward for the great Swiss. He’s unquestionably short of match fitness, whilst Denis Istomin should be match sharp after coming through the qualifying. The Uzbek also has plenty of power and has picked up some good wins over the course of his long career. But Federer’s variety should give him just enough option to keep Istomin from dictating.
Prediction: Federer in 4
Yesh: Federer is low on match practice and needs to find some rhythm. Luckily for him, the qualifier Istomin shouldn’t be much of a threat in the first round. I don’t know how far Federer will go here, but it’s at least to the second round.
Prediction: Federer in 3
Damian: This is a fantastic draw for Federer as Istomin is probably the weakest of all the qualifiers. The 2009 champion’s standard of play should be improving with each match and each week of training, so it’s hard to imagine him actually losing here. Istomin has a big game though and if Federer’s timing on return is still all over the place, losing sets is entirely possible.
Prediction: Federer in 3
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Mathias Bourgue vs Dominik Koepfer
Jim: Mathias Bourgue enjoyed a fine day at the French Open when he took Andy Murray the distance in the second round in 2016. But the Frenchman has struggled to make good on the promise he showed that day. Dominik Koepfer’s solid baseline tennis should see him past Bourgue and into the second round for the second year in a row in Paris.
Prediction: Koepfer in 3
Yesh: Koepfer is a solid player who can do some damage with the right draw and he has reached the second week at a Slam before. Bourgue is a French journeyman with a dream wild card, but he’s out of his depth.
Prediction: Koepfer in 3
Damian: Two players who have had brilliant performances in their careers, yet rarely play anything even near that level. Koepfer has played solid tennis in the warm-ups though, while Bourgue only has a single loss in the last month to world #991 Pedro Araujo. Koepfer has not only been playing more, but also facing a lot better competition.
Prediction: Koepfer in 4
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Kamil Majchrzak vs Arthur Cazaux
Jim: Kamil Majchrzak is not a particularly natural clay-courter, but the Pole has been in good form of late, reaching the second round in Lyon as a qualifier. Arthur Cazaux, meanwhile, clearly has a bright future, but the Majchrzak’s experience should just about give him the edge here.
Prediction: Majchrzak in 4
Yesh: I really like the young Frenchman’s potential. He gets a winnable match, too. Expect Cazaux to make some waves here.
Prediction: Cazaux in 4
Damian: The 2020 Australian Open juniors runner-up is a big talent, highlighted by his recent wins over Adrian Mannarino and Sebastian Korda. Kamil Majchrzak finally picked up some steam recently and should be able to force the Frenchman to play on his terms. Arthur Cazaux should give him a solid test though.
Prediction: Majchrzak in 4
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Radu Albot vs Federico Delbonis
Federico Delbonis will no doubt be bitterly disappointed to have fallen to Alex Molcan in the semifinals in Belgrade, but it was a positive week overall for the big-hitting Argentine. This looks like a good match up for him, with Radu Albot in poor form and not likely to overpower Delbonis.
Prediction: Delbonis in 3
Yesh: Albot looked like he was coming into his own in early 2019, but he hasn’t continued his improvement. Both players are solid, neither are great, but Delbonis likes the clay better. This should be a fun match.
Prediction: Delbonis in 5
Damian: Albot is on a five-match losing streak right now and only contested two of them in the clay-court season. In this form, it’s hard to imagine him being a factor against Delbonis, who’ll be coming to Paris in great rhythm, having won 17 out of 23 matches since Miami.
Prediction: Delbonis in 3
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