{"id":56888,"date":"2023-05-27T07:14:23","date_gmt":"2023-05-27T11:14:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/?p=56888"},"modified":"2023-05-27T07:27:25","modified_gmt":"2023-05-27T11:27:25","slug":"2023-french-open-mens-singles-roundtable-predictions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/2023\/05\/27\/2023-french-open-mens-singles-roundtable-predictions\/","title":{"rendered":"2023 French Open Men\u2019s Singles Roundtable Predictions: Champion, Dark Horse, and Early Exit"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ahead of the second Grand Slam of 2023, five Last Word on Tennis writers\u2013-Vithun Illankovan (<\/span>@VitIllankovan<\/span><\/a>), Andreas Pelekis <\/span>(<\/span>@atp3417<\/span><\/a>)<\/span>,\u00a0 Jack Edward, Damian Kust (<\/span>@damiankust<\/span><\/a>), and Glenys Furness\u2013make their Roland Garros predictions for the Men\u2019s Singles tournament. We also have a separate roundtable for the Women\u2019s singles.<\/span><\/p>\n

Men\u2019s Champion<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

The player we think will win the Men\u2019s Singles tournament<\/span><\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Vithun: <\/b>(1)<\/span> Carlos Alcaraz [ESP]<\/span><\/p>\n

The French Open feels very wide open and I have question marks about all of the favourites for the title. However, I am ironically going to play it safe and pick the No.1 seed to win Roland Garros this year. My concern over Alcaraz is that he has not played a Grand Slam since winning his first Grand Slam title at the US Open last year, so he may not be in the right headspace yet to win another Grand Slam. However, the maturity that he has demonstrated on court to date and an impressive 20-2 record on clay this season (including titles in Buenos Aires, Barcelona, and Madrid<\/a>) are enough for me to believe that another Spainaird will be lifting the <\/span>Coupe des Mousquetaires in a couple of weeks.<\/span><\/p>\n

Andreas: <\/b>(1)<\/span> Carlos Alcaraz [ESP]<\/span><\/p>\n

After missing the Australian Open due to injury, Carlos Alcaraz is coming to Paris looking for revenge. His form was flawless in Barcelona as he didn\u2019t drop a set, and demonstrated mental toughness defending his title in Madrid. Alcaraz\u2019s only spring clay loss is out of the picture this year; Fabian Marozsan lost in the second round of qualifying. For the Spaniard, a blockbuster semifinal against Novak Djokovic looms, but it\u2019s hard not to choose the 20-year-old as the favorite given his form. His draw before Djokovic seems straightforward as well, Alcaraz is 4-0 against Tsitsipas and 4-2 against Norrie, two of the seeded players in his way.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Jack:<\/b> (3) Novak Djokovic [SRB]<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>It\u2019ll be a three or four-horse race for most predictors. Despite the fact Novak Djokovic is in the same half as Carlos Alcaraz, he gets my pick due to the abundance of experience he has over his peers. Alcaraz also comes across as a bit of an unfinished product on slower clay and Djokovic is the favourite against <\/span>anybody <\/span><\/i>in the final, having won five of his last six finals (losing the pressure-filled US Open one in 2021<\/a>). The veteran takes it.<\/span><\/p>\n

Damian: <\/b>(1)<\/span> Carlos Alcaraz [ESP]<\/span><\/p>\n

Getting Novak Djokovic in the same half? Not ideal, but it still doesn\u2019t change his favorite status. If they were to meet tomorrow, I\u2019d be very confidently backing Carlos Alcaraz. After a few rounds, we\u2019ll see if anything changes. Alcaraz and Djokovic being on one side of the draw would be a good opportunity to pick someone like Holger Rune or Daniil Medvedev here, but I do think they are too distinctly in the second tier of contenders and the winner of the amazing semi would still very likely take the whole thing.<\/span><\/p>\n

Glenys: <\/b>(1)<\/span> Carlos Alcaraz [ESP]<\/span><\/p>\n

The top seed, at a Grand Slam for the first time. Many will write the Spaniard off, especially with Djokovic in the same half. However, Alcaraz is young and has been impressive. He’s also Spanish, and it’s clay. Need we say more?<\/span>
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