As the 2nd slam of the year begins in Paris, LWOT will take you through the matches to watch throughout the first three days at Roland Garros:
(1)Rafael Nadal vs Alexandr Dolgopolov
The biggest loser of the draw is undoubtedly Ukranian Alexandr Dolgopolov. He’ll face 10-time Roland Garros champion, Rafael Nadal, who leads the H2H between the two 7-2. Having two wins against Nadal might do something for Dolgopolov’s confidence heading into the match, but Nadal should be too much on clay. Dolgopolov usually finds a way to make matches entertaining; this should be all Nadal with some highlight reel shots to boot.
(16)Kyle Edmund vs (WC)Alex de Minaur
Alex de Minaur enters the main draw as a wild card recipient via Tennis Australia. De Minaur has shown that he can play on clay, including a finals appearance earlier this year at the Alicante Challenger. Edmund defeated de Minaur in their only previous meeting a couple of weeks ago in Estoril. Since then he’s gone on to reach the quarterfinals in Madrid and the Round of 16 in Rome. All British eyes will be on the 23-year-old in Paris as Andy Murray still recovers from his hip injury.
(12)Sam Querrey vs Frances Tiafoe
Sam Querrey’s 2018 struggles continued this week as the American fell to Guido Pella in Geneva. Querrey has now dropped three straight matches, which bodes well for Frances Tiafoe to record his first ever main draw win at Roland Garros. Tiafoe, who considers clay to be his favorite surface, reached the final in Estoril and should be regarded as a potential dark horse to surprise people in Paris.
(15)Lucas Pouille vs Daniil Medvedev
Lucas Pouille and the French crowd against hot-headed Daniil Medvedev has the potential to be one of the best matches in the first round. Pouille is in bad form as of late, but a first-round match against Medvedev, who’s 1-9 in his last ten matches on clay, might be what the Frenchman needs to start his campaign at Roland Garros. Pouille also holds a 2-0 H2H against Medvedev.
(22)Philipp Kohlschreiber vs Borna Coric
The last time we saw Borna Coric in action, he retired five games in against Stefanos Tsitsipas in Rome with a neck injury. He’ll have to be 100% from the start as he’ll face veteran German Phillip Kohlschreiber in the first round. After first-round losses in back to back years at Roland Garros, Kohlschreiber will look to get back on track against Coric in what should be an intriguing match with contrasting styles of play.
