We have reached the second slam of the year as the best players in the world have descended upon Paris, France, for the 2024 French Open. As always, we at LWOT have roundtable previews and predictions for all matches happening around the grounds of Paris. Damian Kust and Jordan Reynolds are on the predictions for the four matches below.
French Open Men’s Day 1 Predictions
Luca Nardi vs Alexandre Muller
Damian: Nardi finally got on to the main tour with that stunning win over Djokovic, but it still remains to be seen how much staying power he actually has. Muller has already lost to him twice but is in better form now and will have the French crowd behind him. With how solid he is too, it might be enough to tip the scales in his favor this time. Muller in 4
Jordan: Muller showed what he is capable of with a run to the Round of 16 at the Italian Open. The Frenchman will have to contend with the powerful forehand of Nardi and try and target the Italian’s backhand. This could be close but a home crowd might be the difference in getting Muller over the line. Muller in 5
Zhizhen Zhang vs Aleksandar Vukic
Damian: Zhang is one of the most up-and-down players on the tour, but this seems like a very good draw for him. While Vukic plays with pretty heavy spin and is better on clay than most people think, his form is still rough and he must be one of the weaker players in the draw. Zhang has all the tools to dominate this matchup. Zhang in 4
Jordan: There will be a lot of powerful hitting between these two. Each man is also inconsistent, making this a tough match to predict. At his best, Zhang is the more accomplished player on clay, giving him a slight edge overall. Zhang in 4
Alejandro Tabilo vs Zizou Bergs
Damian: Bergs is probably one of the most dangerous qualifiers, but he landed a very tough opponent here. Tabilo is coming off Rome semifinals where he came close to eliminating the tournament champion Alexander Zverev. It doesn’t exactly make the Chilean one of the title favorites in Paris, but it does make him the favorite in this matchup. Tabilo in 4
Jordan: Tabilo caught the imagination of the tennis world with his run to the semifinal in Rome, including a hammering of Novak Djokovic. Bergs is a tricky opponent and he will play his aggressive style without any fear. Whether he can do that consistently enough to overcome Tabilo is another matter. It seems doubtful. Tabilo in 4
Carlos Alcaraz vs J.J. Wolf
Damian: How is the right arm of Alcaraz? We’ll find out soon. The good news for him is that even when he couldn’t hit through his forehand properly in Rome, he could still beat a fair few players. Wolf on clay plus in his 2024 form just doesn’t seem like a big threat. He’s been regaining a bit of groove but de Jong just demolished him in the final round of qualifying. Alcaraz in 3
Jordan: It will be interesting to see if Alcaraz comes out firing after his injury issues during the clay-court season so far. With all due respect to Wolf, this seems like an ideal match for the Spaniard to play himself into form. Clay is Wolf’s least favourite surface, which makes a comfortable Alcaraz victory very likely. Alcaraz in 3
Main Photo Credit: Syndication: Desert Sun
