{"id":68010,"date":"2024-05-30T17:52:48","date_gmt":"2024-05-30T21:52:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/?p=68010"},"modified":"2024-05-30T17:52:48","modified_gmt":"2024-05-30T21:52:48","slug":"french-open-day-6-mens-predictions-sinner-kotov","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/2024\/05\/30\/french-open-day-6-mens-predictions-sinner-kotov\/","title":{"rendered":"French Open Day 6 Men’s Predictions Including Jannik Sinner vs Pavel Kotov"},"content":{"rendered":"

The third round of the men’s singles at the French Open begins on Day 6. There are eight matches scheduled for Friday, and our writers share their thoughts on all of them for you. We split the matches between this and a separate article<\/a>. Predicting today’s matches are Jim Smith, Andreas Pelekis, and Jordan Reynolds.<\/p>\n

French Open Day Predictions<\/h2>\n

Zizou Bergs vs Grigor Dimitrov<\/h4>\n

Jim:<\/em>
\nThis has the makings of a close contest. Grigor Dimitrov is the better player, and vastly more experienced, but he can struggle on the clay and has never been past the third round in Paris. The heavy conditions will not help him either. That said, he has managed them expertly so far and whilst the power of Zizou Bergs<\/a> will pose him a different challenge, the Bulgarian should have just about enough to advance.
\nPrediction: Dimitrov in 5<\/em><\/p>\n

Andreas:<\/em>
\nDimitrov\u2019s renaissance in 2024 has continued in Paris, as he\u2019s yet to drop a set in two matches. For Bergs, he reached the third round of the French Open<\/a> for the first time of his career. Bergs has an aggressive style of play that should match Dimitrov\u2019s power, but it\u2019s hard to bet against the Bulgarian in this one.
\nPrediction: Dimitrov in 3<\/em><\/p>\n

Jordan:<\/em>
\nBergs has already enjoyed a great tournament and can swing freely in this match. Dimitrov will need to be on his game, with Bergs capable of exploiting his weaker backhand on clay. Overall, though, Dimitrov\u2019s serve and forehand should still be able to get him out of trouble.
\nPrediction: Dimitrov in 4<\/em><\/p>\n

[tgdcta items=”1″ id=”170466″]<\/p>\n

Hubert Hurkacz vs Denis Shapovalov<\/h4>\n

Jim:<\/em>
\nHubert Hurkacz is playing the best clay-court tennis of his career to date, whilst Denis Shapovalov has found a rich vein of form and looked very sharp in ousting the 25th (and admittedly short of form) Frances Tiafoe in the second round. If Shapovalov can temper his power with some accuracy, he could well win this match, but he will also need to return very well and that area of his game remains a weakness that a player of Hurkacz\u2019s quality could exploit.
\nPrediction: Hurkacz in 4<\/em><\/p>\n

Andreas:<\/em>
\nIn one of the tournament’s more entertaining second round matches, Shapovalov took out Frances Tiafoe in four sets to reach this stage of the event; this clay court season almost seems like a small renaissance for him. Hurkacz hasn\u2019t been at his best this tournament, but winning a close four-setter against Brandon Nakashima should give him some confidence. A win on Friday for Hurkacz would get him into the fourth round of the French Open for the second time.
\nPrediction: Hurkacz in 4<\/em><\/p>\n

Jordan:<\/em>
\nIt is great to see Shapovalov finding some form again. He defeated Frances Tiafoe in the last round, but his tournament will probably end here. Even on a clay-court, Shapovalov\u2019s backhand return is a big issue for him against Hurkacz\u2019s huge serve. That is likely to be the difference in this matchup.
\nPrediction: Hurkacz in 4<\/em><\/p>\n

Embed from Getty Images<\/a>