Daniil Medvedev starts his French Open journey against Facundo Bagnis on day 3 of the French Open, David Goffin also plays. Our panelists offer their predictions for every match as the first round on the men’s side will complete at Roland Garros.
Daniil Medvedev vs Facundo Bagnis
Jack Edward: A clay-court Challenger champion this year, Facundo Bagnis will be able to give Daniil Medvedev a run for his money at Roland Garros. Despite Medvedev’s contempt for the surface and the steady quality of his opponent, I genuinely believe he has the weaponry to make a similar run to last year’s quarterfinal appearance. This is the middle ground required between tricky and simple for Medvedev to warm into his French Open campaign. Medvedev in 4
Damian Kust: We’ve got no info on Daniil Medvedev’s form after just one match in Geneva, it’s also tough to say if the Russian will enjoy the conditions in Paris as much as he did last year, when it played much closer to a hard court than most clay events. Facundo Bagnis is a competent specialist of this surface and has a decent lefty game, but he shouldn’t have much to hurt Medvedev with, even with the World No. 2 still fairly rusty. Medvedev in 3
Yesh Ginsburg: Daniil Medvedev gets a bit of a challenging draw to open his tournament, but he should have too much for Bagnis as long as he finds his footing. Medvedev in 4
Jiri Lehecka vs David Goffin
Jack: David Goffin’s knee injury seems to be behind him. For the most part, his clay season has been very commendable, his form peaking in a three-set loss to Nadal in Madrid. He should carry this form into his match with Jiri Lehecka who he dispatched fairly comfortably back in Monte Carlo. The Czech can be devastating on his day but probably won’t be in these conditions. Goffin in 3
Damian: David Goffin won their most recent meeting this year, but got a back injury in Rome. If fit, the Belgian is again the favorite in this one, mostly as his baselining got much sharper recently and Jiri Lehecka remains very unpredictable. The Czech still struggles with his shot selection and could improve his transition game to finish the points off with more efficiency. He’s got the talent to win this one, but he’s not likely to deliver. Goffin in 4
Yesh: Two months ago, David Goffin looked like he couldn’t win at all. He’s not quite back to his former self, but he’s solid enough at the moment. Goffin in 3
Hugo Gaston vs Alex de Minaur
Jack: Whilst I’m still not convinced Alex De Minaur has transformed himself into a clay-court beast, he’s definitely made enough marginal improvements to be a reliable force against lower-ranked players on the surface. Gaston’s confidence will be very low at the moment so if De Minaur plays as well as he’s shown he can this clay-swing, it should be one-way traffic. De Minaur in 3
Damian: Hugo Gaston has had random peaks in France before, including at Roland Garros. But it feels like they’re somewhat unpredictable and with his form this year being dreadful, it’s hard to imagine him repeating that. Alex de Minaur has massively improved his clay-court game recently and should be taking this one, as he’s avoided bad losses this year. de Minaur in 4
Yesh: This could be a fun match. De Minaur is the better player right now, but not so much so that he should run away with this, especially if Gaston is inspired by a home crowd. Gaston in 5
Adrian Mannarino vs Federico Delbonis
Jack: Though Federico Delbonis hasn’t had the clay season he’d have been hoping for sporting only two wins since Miami, he’s kept most of his matches close and should still be considered a tough clay-court opponent. Adrian Mannarino shouldn’t have the width of shot required to cause the upset. Delbonis in 4
Damian: Federico Delbonis is nowhere near the form that took him to round four here last year, but at least he’s got a great clay-court skillset with the huge lefty forehand topspin. Adrian Mannarino hadn’t won on this surface in three years before upsetting Aslan Karatsev last week. This could get tricky for the Argentinian with the form that he’s in. Delbonis in 5
Yesh: Two solid players, but Delbonis is playing a tad better right now and has a game more suited to the clay. Delbonis in 5
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