We wrap up Round 2 of the French Open women’s draw on Day 5 of the tournament. We will see 16 women’s matches as the best players in the world try to reach the third round. In a tournament already full of upsets, what do you think will happen on Thursday? We split the 16 matches between four articles. The other articles feature Karolina Pliskova vs Leolia Jeanjean, Jessica Pegula vs Anhelina Kalinina, and Iga Swiatek vs Alison Riske. Predicting these matches are Fraser Learmonth, Jakub Bobro, and Andy Watson.
French Open Day 5 Women’s Predictions
Alize Cornet vs Jelena Ostapenko
Fraser:
Cornet looked good in her first round match against Doi. However, the Japanese player was short of form and there for the taking. The same can’t be said of Ostapenko, who can hit anyone on the WTA Tour off the court when she is on form. Her first match leads me to believe she may well go on a run at Roland Garros, and she should win this match relatively comfortably if her game is trending upwards.
Prediction: Ostapenko in 2
Jakub:
The drama potential here is off the charts, especially if the French crowd gets involved. As for the players, they both carried a losing streak into the first round and executed straight-set wins over unimpressive opponents, Misaki Doi for Cornet and Lucia Bronzetti for Ostapenko. It’s a tough one to predict but I am leaning Cornet here with the home advantage factor.
Prediction: Cornet in 3
Andy:
Difficult to predict this one because of the characters involved. Both could just as easily play 9/10 tennis or 2/10. At the moment I have slightly more faith in Cornet on this stage but at the same time Ostapenko is the player with the higher peak performance level. I’m going to chance the Latvian former Roland-Garros champion to win.
Prediction: Ostapenko in 3
Madison Keys vs Carolina Garcia
Fraser:
This would have been must-see tennis four years ago. However, neither player is among the elite in the women’s game anymore. Keys has looked much better this year than the last two and is the deserved favorite here. Garcia looked good in her first match of the tournament, but I’m not sure she can live with Keys’ power in this one.
Prediction: Keys in 3
Jakub:
Outside of her great results at Indian Wells and in Australia, Keys is 2-7 and struggled to get past Anna Kalinskaya. This provides Garcia with a nice opportunity to reach the third round, which certainly looked unlikely when she was coming into Roland Garros with no clay matches played this season. It will be a tight match but I see Garcia coming out on top this time.
Prediction: Garcia in 3
Andy:
Two experienced underperforming players here. Can Garcia continue to use home advantage to get the result? On this occasion I think that the power of Keys will get the better of the Frenchwoman.
Prediction: Keys in 3
Camila Giorgi vs Yulia Putintseva
Fraser:
This should be a fun watch. Giorgi likes to hit the cover off the ball every chance she gets while Putintseva loves to bully her opponents into errors with great defense and mental fortitude. Which style of play wins though? As you know, when in doubt I back the player who’s racket the match is on and in this case that is Giorgi. I think the Italian edges it.
Prediction: Giorgi in 3
Jakub:
Record-wise, Putintseva is having the best clay season of her career so far, going 10-4 at this point. The Kazakh lost only four games against Irina Bara while Giorgi had to come back from a set down against Zhang Shuai, who is not a threat on clay. The Italian has played very little this season and on current form, Putintseva has to be the favorite for me.
Prediction: Putintseva in 2
Andy:
Giorgi will give it everything and a little bit more. It is that bit more that might be the problem though, will she be able to stay within the confines of the court? I think that Putintseva might win this if she can remain consistent and use her movement to track down Giorgi’s groundstrokes to make her play one more.
Prediction: Putintseva in 3
Paula Badosa vs Kaja Juvan
Fraser:
Badosa dismantled Ferro – not what I expected – in her first match in Paris. The Spaniard dropped just two games in that match. By contrast, Juvan made a meal of an easy first round match and was nearly taken to a third set. If she plays at that level again, she won’t last long here and I can’t see her picking up a win even if she raises her game.
Prediction: Badosa in 2
Jakub:
Badosa allowed Fiona Ferro only two games in the opening round, establishing herself as one of the favorites for the title. Juvan was seen as a potential dark horse after her finals run in Strasbourg but did not look great in her win over Oksana Selekhmeteva. Badosa should be moving on here.
Prediction: Badosa in 2
Andy:
Constrasting starts for these two as Badosa barely had to use third gear in her facile victory over Fiona Ferro. Juvan had a real roller coaster against Selekhmeteva though, swinging from one extreme to another albeit still taking the match in straight sets, despite being 5-0 down in Set 2. Whilst Juvan is highly talented she showed in that opening match that she is still inconsistent and that will be her undoing against Badosa.
Prediction: Badosa in 2
Main Photo from Getty.
