The first round of the 2024 French Open continues on Monday, Day 2 of the event. There are 24 men’s singles matches scheduled, and–as always–we here at LastWordOnTennis share our thoughts on all of them. We split the 24 matches between six articles. Our other five articles feature Rafael Nadal vs Alexander Zverev, Gael Monfils vs Thiago Seyboth Wild, Ben Shelton vs Hugo Gaston, Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Marton Fucsovics, and Daniil Medvedev vs Dominik Koepfer. Predicting today’s matches are Jordan Reynolds, Damian Kust, and Yesh Ginsburg.
French Open Day 2 Predictions
Pedro Cachin vs Tommy Paul
Jordan:
Cachin had the memory of playing his idol Rafael Nadal in Madrid, but before that, he lost 15 matches in a row. That is not form that makes me confident he will beat Italian Open semifinalist Paul. The American has improved on clay a lot.
Prediction: Paul in 3
Damian:
Cachin finally snapped his losing streak at altitude in Madrid, but that return to form was clearly only temporary. He hasn’t managed to repeat it at sea-level and suffered two brutal losses in Lyon last week (one as a lucky loser). Especially against someone as solid as Paul, it would take a massive effort from Cachin to produce the upset.
Prediction: Paul in 3
Yesh:
Tommy Paul is already a solid Top 15-25 player, consistently, and he just seems to keep raising his peak, bit by bit, ever few months. Expect him to have no problem here.
Prediction: Paul in 3
Thiago Monteiro vs Miomir Kecmanovic
Jordan:
Both players generally play their best tennis on clay, although Monteiro relies more heavily on his results on the dirt. This is likely to be a very tight battle between these two that will go the distance. In a very long match, I favour Kecmanovic slightly more.
Prediction: Kecmanovic in 5
Damian:
They played a classic in Rome recently with Monteiro claiming it in the deciding set tie-break. The Brazilian has been in the form of his life the last month or so and kept it up in the qualifying. He’s definitely less reliable than Kecmanovic in general, but if he keeps it up… His peak game might be just a bit stronger right now.
Prediction: Monteiro in 5
Yesh:
Monteiro won a very tight battle just a few weeks ago, in a third-set tiebreak. This will be a total coin-flip, so I’ll take the Serbian to get revenge.
Prediction: Kecmanovic in 5
Alexander Shevchenko vs Aslan Karatsev
Jordan:
Clay is not Shevchenko’s favourite surface. The good news for him is he faces an opponent who only recently came back from an injury. It is unclear if Karatsev is ready to win a match at Grand Slam level so soon after returning.
Prediction: Shevchenko in 4
Damian:
Karatsev’s level after his return from injury seems okay, but it’s not quite last year’s Roland Garros when he was a fairly popular dark horse pick. He can fire up at anytime, but maybe his power-hitting style will help Shevchenko play with clarity and grind his way to the win? It seems like match rhythm advantage is the only real edge we can point to here.
Prediction: Shevchenko in 5
Yesh:
Unlike most huge/aggressive players, Karatsev has no trouble with the clay. The Russian hasn’t found his blistering form from a few years ago in a while, but his base level is still pretty high.
Prediction: Karatsev in 4
Jannik Sinner vs Christopher Eubanks
Jordan:
Eubanks upsetting Sinner would be tough on any surface. But it is least likely to happen on clay, where his serve and volley are not as effective. The Australian Open champion is likely to start comfortably.
Prediction: Sinner in 3
Damian:
Sinner says his hip is back to 100% and it’s all about recovering match sharpness now. Eubanks is both a great opponent for him here (because he’s unlikely to beat him) and a bad one (because he doesn’t give you rhythm). But anyway, on clay this looks like a match that Sinner gets through even at far below his peak game.
Prediction: Sinner in 3
Yesh:
This match will be completely on Jannik Sinner’s racket. If he’s healthy, there will be nothing Eubanks can do. No reason to think that Sinner won’t be ready.
Prediction: Sinner in 3
Main Photo Credit: Mike Frey-USA TODAY Sports
