We wrap up the first round of the French Open on Day 3 on Tuesday. The women will delight tennis fans in Paris and worldwide with 20 matches. As always, we’re here to predict all of them for you. This article looks at four matches, so we have four more articles to go with it. One features Ashleigh Barty vs Bernarda Pera, the next headlines Coco Gauff vs Aleksandra Krunic, one highlights Karolina Pliskova vs Donna Vekic, and the fourth features Venus Williams vs Ekaterina Alexandrova. Predicting this set of matches are Fraser Learmounth, Andrew Watson, and Yesh Ginsburg.
French Open Day 3 Women’s Predictions
Elina Svitolina vs Oceane Babel
Fraser:
This should be simple. Svitolina is in decent form and is perennially one of the better performers on the women’s tour. She is also good on the red dirt and will like her chances of a deep run this year. Babel is relatively unknown and unlikely to possess the game to trouble Svitolina much.
Prediction: Svitolina in 2
Andrew:
The Ukrainian couldn’t have asked for a more comfortable opener to her Roland Garros campaign. The 17-year-old wild card has no record at the senior level. Svitolina will be aiming for a quick victory to save energy for the latter stages.
Prediction: Svitolina in 2
Yesh:
Svitolina is possibly the best player in the world, but she struggles against the elite players on the biggest stages. This is a huge stage, but her opponent is not at all elite (at least, not yet). Svitolina should cruise.
Prediction: Svitolina in 2
Varvara Lepchenko vs Shuai Zhang
Fraser:
Zhang comfortably dominates the head-to-head in this matchup and is also the better player on paper by quite some distance. First round upsets are always possible, but this one looks unlikely to fall into that category. Take the Chinese star to advance in this one.
Prediction: Zhang in 2
Andrew:
This is a confusing match to work out. Zhang leads their head to head comfortably but has lost five of her last six matches on clay whereas Lepchenko qualified impressively. I will edge towards Zhang because many of those recent defeats were against top players and she clearly has had the edge on Lepchenko previously.
Prediction: Zhang in 3
Yesh:
I really like Lepchenko’s game. Unfortunately, the American hasn’t been able to play her best in quite a long time. Add to the face that clay has never been where she produced her best results, and this doesn’t look great for her.
Prediction: Zhang in 2
Jennifer Brady vs Anastasija Sevastova
Fraser:
This could be quite the contest. Sevastova undoubtedly has the better game for clay. However, Brady has shown she is a real threat on any surface and is in far better form over the last eight or so months than the Latvian is. Sevastova has picked up her level in recent months, but I’m not sure it is high enough to dismiss someone of Brady’s quality, even on the clay.
Prediction: Brady in 3
Andrew:
Brady has had a magnificent recent Grand Slam record but mainly on hard courts. Her clay game is ok but Sevastova is a WTA Tour tournament champion on the surface and has been in good form recently, winning seven of her last ten. This is another very close match but I’m going to side with the experience and clay court guile of the Latvian.
Prediction: Sevastova in 3
Yesh:
I am a huge fan of Jennifer Brady’s game. She is fearless and will blast the cover off the ball, no matter who she’s facing. She’s also very quickly getting far better and more comfortable at moving on the clay. As long as she’s healthy, she wins. Sevastova doesn’t have the game to withstand the baseline onslaught.
Prediction: Brady in 2
Ons Jabeur vs Yulia Putintseva
Fraser:
Jabeur should have the edge here. The Tunisian is in better form both in general and on clay with Putintseva having had a quite year so far on the surface. However, the Kazakh is a fierce competitor and won’t give this match away easily. Expect a close-fought affair with Jabeur’s ability to mix things up proving the difference.
Prediction: Jabeur in 3
Andrew:
This will be an entertaining clash, as most of the Tunisian’s matches are. It is Jabeur that I give the verdict to here. Though both players have good clay records, Jabeur has the higher top level and has been more consistent in the last couple of years.
Prediction: Jabeur in 3
Yesh:
Ons Jabeur is always fun to watch. Not only does she have a unique style, but you always find yourself impressed at her game. Nothing about it seems impressive, and yet it’s always good enough to get the job done. Watching Jabeur makes you feel like you can do everything she’s doing–and, of course, you can’t. But she’s fun to watch, and she wins. What more can fans ask for?
Prediction: Jabeur in 2
Main Photo from Getty.
