The second round of men’s singles at the French Open starts on Day 4 of the event. A full half of the draw is playing, which means 16 matches. As always, we here at LWOT will share our thoughts on all of them with you. We split the 16 matches between four articles. In addition to this article, the other three feature Jannik Sinner vs Richard Gasquet, Ben Shelton vs Kei Nishikori, and Frances Tiafoe vs Denis Shapovalov. Predicting today’s matches are Tope Oke, Ateet Shrivastava, and Damian Kust. Who do you think will advance?
French Open Day 4 Predictions
Grigor Dimitrov vs Fabian Marozsan
Tope:
Both players will test each other after comfortable wins in the first round. While this looks like a win for Dimitrov, Marozsan is unplayable on his day. I’d assume he’s in top shape with the way he pummeled Kukushin and go with him to edge this a match that’ll go the whole hog.
Prediction: Marozsan in 5
Ateet:
Grigor Dimitrov put up an impressive performance in his first-round match, hitting 35 winners and just 16 unforced errors. Fabian Marozsan got a much-needed win over Mikhail Kukushin after a poor showing in Geneva and Rome. This will not be an easy match for Dimitrov but his experience at this level should help him win.
Prediction: Dimitrov in 4
Damian:
Marozsan has been in pretty poor shape the entire clay swing, but someone with his playstyle usually doesn’t need that much rhythm to suddenly have a great performance. He takes time away from his opponents so well too and will be putting plenty of pressure on the Dimitrov backhand slice. The Bulgarian has never made the quarterfinals in Paris and he might be a little vulnerable here again.
Prediction: Marozsan in 5
Sebastian Baez vs Sebastian Ofner
Tope:
The battle of the Sebastians promises to be a thrilling one after the Swiss Sebastian stunned Terence Atmane from two sets down in the opening round. Sebastian Baez, too, required five sets to defeat debutant Gustavo Heide. Ordinarily, Baez is the better player, especially on clay, but it feels like he isn’t in optimal shape and I’ll back Ofner to edge what should be a close one
Prediction: Ofner in 5
Ateet:
Both these players are coming from a close five-set win in their first-round match. Ofner was down two sets to love before turning the match around while Baez was down a break in the final set. Ofner has a big game but Baez’s court coverage and superiority in rallies give him the edge.
Prediction: Baez in 5
Damian:
Baez barely got through Heide in the opening round and really shouldn’t waste what seems like a brilliant opportunity to make the third round at Roland Garros for the first time. Ofner does have the more explosive game though and maybe the clay-court wins leader of 2024 will struggle a little bit again. It would require some peak hitting from the Austrian to hit through his opponent.
Prediction: Baez in 4
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Andrey Rublev vs Pedro Martinez
Tope:
Quite surprising that Rublev surrendered a set to Taro Daniel in the first round. It is a testament to how erratic the Russian can be. That being said, he needs to remain focused against a dangerous player on clay.
Prediction: Rublev in 4
Ateet:
Andrey Rublev did well to come through in four sets against an inspired Taro Daniel. Pedro Martinez plays well on clay and is having a good season so far. He beat Casper Ruud in Estoril but beating a top player in a Grand Slam is a completely different task. Rublev is the better player but if he shows any blips then Martinez can take a set.
Prediction: Rublev in 4
Damian:
Rublev is definitely one of the candidates to pick up the pieces if the issues of the top three seeds persist. Let’s give it some time but It already feels like they haven’t and the draw made things quite tricky for the Russian anyway (already on track to play Tsitsipas by round four). Martinez had a few stunners this clay swing, but played a bit too poorly in round one to justify calling the upset here.
Prediction: Rublev in 4
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Carlos Alcaraz vs Jesper De Jong
Tope:
Jesper De Jong doused a Jack Draper resurgence to set up a match with one of the hot favourites, Carlos Alcaraz. The Dutchman will hold his own and try to keep this close but seeing how Alcaraz caged Wolf in his first match, there’ll only be one outcome.
Prediction: Alcaraz in 4
Ateet:
Carlos Alcaraz was clinical in his opening-round match, dropping just four games en route. There were no visible issues with the forearm and the forehand looked good. Jesper De Jong was all over Jack Draper in the first two sets and should have won in straight sets but did well to eventually come through. He looked great off the ground but Alcaraz will be too big of a task.
Prediction: Alcaraz in 3
Damian:
How is the arm of Alcaraz? We can’t fully claim we know the answer to that question already, but the Spaniard seemed a bit more comfortable in his arm sleeve during the opening-round win over Wolf. It wasn’t a big test though and this will likely be similar as he can probably get through this playing at 80%, even with de Jong’s amazing form since the qualifying.
Prediction: Alcaraz in 3
Main Photo Credit: Mike Frey-USA TODAY Sports