Following a pandemic-induced move to the fall last season, French Open is back to its usual spring slot. It\u2019s been an intense few days leading up to the main event of the clay season, with Naomi Osaka deciding to skip press duties and French Tennis Federation unveiling a statue of 13-time champion Rafael Nadal whilst still active. But let\u2019s turn our focus to what may happen on the court for the next two weeks.<\/p>\n
Instead of the typical composite piece, this year\u2019s men’s singles first-round watchability power rankings will be split in three shorter articles. Remember, we aren\u2019t looking at the best matches of the day, but at the encounters that have potential to be fun for a legitimate reason or due to an obscure subplot.<\/p>\n
He may not be as vocal about it as Daniil Medvedev or Nick Kyrgios, but Ruusuvuori is not a fan of red dirt. The Finn hasn\u2019t won a match at any level since early August 2019, when he squandered two championship points<\/a> at the Augsburg Challenger against former USC Trojan Yannick Hanfmann. Ruusuvuori is 0-6 on the surface ever since that painful 2-6 6-4 7-5 loss. Across the net will be McDonald, another former college tennis star at UCLA, coached by a Spaniard (Jaime Pulgar) and really battle tested after going through a tough section of the qualifying draw. What could go wrong for Ruusuvuori?<\/p>\n Watchability Index: 7\/10<\/em><\/p>\n