The second round is getting underway and the stage is set for an entertaining day of tennis at the French Open. There are 16 matches on the slate for the fans at Roland Garros to enjoy and, as ever, we here at LWOT are offering our predictions for every match, including Holger Rune vs Emilio Nava, Carlos Alcaraz vs Fabian Marozsan, and Casper Ruud vs Nuno Borges. But who will reach the third round?
French Open Day 4 Predictions
Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Matteo Gigante
Ateet: Stefanos Tsitsipas hasn’t had his usual success on clay this season, which is why it was important for him to get off to a good start here. The former finalist faced a tough test in the first round but passed it with flying colours. I expect another comfortable victory from the Greek player.
Prediction: Tsitsipas in 3
Damian: Getting through a clay specialist like Etcheverry in the opening round was a positive start for Tsitsipas and he should be coming through here as well. Gigante has some tools that he could bother him with, but his game is still a bit unpolished and it’s doubtful he will apply it in the best possible manner.
Prediction: Tsitsipas in 3
Tope: While Matteo Gigante dominated Benjamin Hassan in his opener in straight sets so did, Tsitsipas against a more formidable opponent in Tomas Martin Etcheverry. The former world number three will not encounter any difficulties here in this one
Prediction: Tsitsipas in 4
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Tommy Paul vs Marton Fucsovics
Ateet: Tommy Paul had a slow start in his first-round match against Elmer Moller but raised his level and won in four sets. Marton Fucsovics has a winning record against Paul, but both of those wins came when Paul was not a top player. The American player has made significant progress over the last year, and the result will show that.
Prediction: Paul in 4
Damian: Paul was a bit sloppy to kick off the match against Moller, but prevailed in the end and has a solid draw to go deep here. Fucsovics tends to bother the top seeds but then fall off a little bit and while he has a positive record against the American, these matches took place before Paul had his big breakthrough in the last two years.
Prediction: Paul in 4
Tope: Despite Paul’s resurgence over the past few weeks, Fucsovics is a potentially tricky opponent and has already got the better of him on two occasions. I still think the world number 12 is likely to make it through but he can’t allow his level to drop.
Prediction: Paul in 5
Hamad Medjedovic vs Juan Manuel Cerundolo
Ateet: Hamad Medjedovic played a dominant match to beat Kamil Majchrzak in straight sets. This was Medjedovic’s first win at the French Open, and he’ll be looking to build on it against Juan Manuel Cerundolo, who defeated Alex Michelsen in the first round. Cerundolo has demonstrated his talent several times this clay season, but Medjedovic has a superior serve and stronger ground strokes. If he can keep his errors under control, he will win.
Prediction: Medjedovic in 5
Damian: Who would have thought that it would be the younger Cerundolo surviving in the event for longer than his brother? He’s got a winnable match here too, mostly because Medjedovic barely has any experience competing in the best-of-five format. But if he can keep crushing the ball like he did in the opening round, that might not matter.
Prediction: Medjedovic in 4
Tope: This promises to go down to the wire between two hard-hitting players and while this will be tightly contested, I’ll lean towards the higher-ranked Medjedovic to progress to the third round of a Grand Slam for the first time.
Prediction: Medjedovic in 4
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Quentin Halys vs Miomir Kecmanovic
Ateet: Frenchman Quentin Halys wins a match at the French Open for the first time since 2016. It was not a completed match as Tomas Machac retired in the second set, but a win is a win, and Halys will take it. Kecmanovic, on the other hand, had to fight extremely hard to turn a two-set deficit in his favour. He played the last two sets at a very high level and will be proud of this brilliant comeback. I expect another long match.
Prediction: Kecmanovic in 5
Damian: Conventionally the better clay-courter would be Kecmanovic, but it’s worth pondering if Halys might not get him this time. The Frenchman will go after his openings, for better or worse, and Kecmanovic isn’t particularly convincing at the moment. But potentially rainy conditions on Wednesday might make it a bit easier for the Serbian to grind him down.
Prediction: Kecmanovic in 5
Tope: Kecmanovic is likely to carry his confidence from the first-round comeback into the next match against Halys, who has been out of form leading up to this tournament and took advantage of Machac’s ongoing injury issues in the first round.
Prediction: Kecmanovic in 5
Main photo credit: Susan Mullane-USA TODAY Sports
