Day 1 of the Paris Olympics tennis tournament is Saturday, and it kicks off the men’s and women’s singles and doubles events. In addition to our regular predictions of all singles matches, as a special treat for you us at LastWordOnTennis will be sharing predictions for the Olympics doubles matches. The highlight of Day 1 in Men’s Doubles will be Rafael Nadal’s return to the Parisian clay–possibly for the final time. We also predict half of the day’s matches in a separate article. Predicting these matches are Damian Kust, Jim Smith, and Yesh Ginsburg. Who do you think will advance? (Note that in Olympic doubles, a third set is a match tiebreak–first team to ten points wins.)
As a special for the Olympics, we will also be predicting all of the day’s other matches, both singles and doubles. We will link to our other Olympic predictions at the bottom of the article. Enjoy!
Paris Olympics Day 1 Men’s Doubles Predictions
Rohan Bopanna and Sriram Balaji (India) vs Fabien Reboul and Edouard Roger-Vasselin (France)
Damian:
Bopanna had some Indian partners to choose from, but neither of them has a lot of experience at the top-level. In their first appearance after six years, he and Balaji were smashed off the court by Schnaitter/Wallner in Hamburg. Reboul/Roger-Vasselin did much better in that event despite playing with each other for the first time.
Prediction: Reboul and Roger-Vasselin in 2
Jim:
This has the makings of an interesting match. But one does wonder if Sriram Balaji might end up proving to be the weak link. The 34-year-old has spent his career on the fringes of the ATP Tour in doubles and does not have much of a record to speak of in singles. Ravi Bopanna remains world’s best, but he may need a more effective partner than Balaji.
Prediction: Reboul and Roger-Vasselin in 2
Yesh:
Bopanna is a great doubles player who finally just claimed his first Major title. It’s the Olympics, so he needed a countryman for this event, but Balaji should be enough to get out of this round, at least.
Prediction: Bopanna and Balaji in 2
Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori (Italy) vs Pablo Carreno Busta and Marcel Granollers (Spain)
Damian:
Bolelli/Vavassori made the final at Roland Garros earlier this year and are one of the few top-quality pairings here who compete with each other on a regular basis. Granollers is still at the very top of the sport, but it’s just tough to see him carrying Carreno Busta to the win here in the current state of the former singles World No. 10’s career.
Prediction: Bolelli and Vavassori in 2
Jim:
The Italians are good enough to be competitive here. But are they good enough to beat Marcel Granollers and Pablo Carreno Busta? Probably not. Carreno Busta is not the player he was, but Granollers is currently ranked as World #1 for a reason–and without a Grand Slam title to his name will surely be desperate to write his name into the history books.
Prediction: Carreno Busta and Granollers in 3
Yesh:
The Italians are the top seed at this event, but it’s not at all clear that they’re the favorites. Granollers is probably at the end of his career, but he’s still got strong doubles skills. This might be a closer-than-expected match.
Prediction: Bolelli and Vavassori in 3
Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni (Argentina) vs Carlos Alcaraz and Rafael Nadal (Spain)
Damian:
Alcaraz/Nadal aren’t completely out of medal contention; their baseline games might be good enough to dominate even in this format. The problem is they were drawn against one of the few regular pairings in the draw. Alcaraz only having seven professional matches in doubles might be an issue as well. They likely won’t go down without a fight.
Prediction: Gonzalez and Molteni in 3
Jim:
Nadal might be a shadow of the player he once was, but even so he is good enough to be competitive at this level. And Carlos Alcaraz, fresh from his Wimbledon triumph, is more than just competitive. He is setting the standard. The Spaniards should win this comfortably.
Prediction: Alcaraz and Nadal in 2
Yesh:
What an unlucky draw for the Argentines here. They’re the doubles specialists, but both Alcaraz and Nadal are so good all over the court and at the net that it won’t matter. The Spaniards will roll.
Prediction: Alcaraz and Nadal in 2
Other Olympic Predictions:
Men’s Singles Featuring Novak Djokovic vs Matthew Ebden
Men’s Singles Featuring Carlos Alcaraz vs Hedy Habib
Men’s Singles Featuring Daniil Medvedev vs Rinky Hijikata
Men’s Singles Featuring Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Zizou Bergs
Women’s Singles Featuring Bianca Andreescu vs Clara Tauson
Women’s Singles Featuring Iga Swiatek vs Irina-Camelia Begu
Women’s Singles Featuring Karolina Muchova vs Leylah Fernandez
Women’s Singles Featuring Danielle Collins vs Laura Siegemund
Women’s Singles Featuring Including Naomi Osaka vs Angelique Kerber
Women’s Doubles Featuring Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula vs Daria Saville and Ellen Perez
Women’s Doubles Featuring Angelique Kerber and Laura Siegemund vs Katie Boulter and Heather Watson
Main Photo Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
