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, Carlos Alcaraz vs Jesper De Jong, and Ben Shelton vs Kei Nishikori. Predicting today’s matches are Tope Oke, Ateet Shrivastava, and Damian Kust. Who do you think will advance?
French Open Day 4 Predictions
Felix Auger-Aliassime vs Henri Squire
Tope:
Henri Squire has had a terrific season and should be happy with how far he’s gone this year. Making it to the second round of his first French Open is a decent achievement. Whilst they’re both the same age, their rankings are a gulf apart and that will reflect in the outcome.
Prediction: Auger-Aliassime in 4
Ateet:
Henri Squire saved six match points to win his first-round match. Qualifying and winning a round in his first-ever Grand Slam is an awesome achievement from Squire. Felix Auger-Aliassime put another solid performance in his win over Nishioka and has a favourable match against Squire. The Canadian is playing well and should advance to the third round.
Prediction: Auger-Aliassime in 3
Damian:
It was a crazy way to grab your first Grand Slam main draw win for Henri Squire on Monday as he saved six match points (five on return!) to beat Max Purcell. The German is having a breakthrough campaign this year and his game is coming together nicely, but he might be a little outmatched here. Auger-Aliassime isn’t even that dangerous on clay despite his run at altitude in Madrid, he just has a really nice draw.
Prediction: Auger-Aliassime in 4
Lorenzo Sonego vs Zhizhen Zhang
Tope:
This match could swing either way. Zhang is beginning to find his rhythm and should extend his head-to-head over the Italian.
Prediction: Zhang in 5
Ateet:
Zhang Zhizhen reached the quarterfinals in Rome and displayed a similar level of tennis in his first-round win. Clay is proving to be his best surface and he will like his chances in the second round. It’s been a tough year for Lorenzo Sonego but his performance against Ugo Humbert will give him a lot of confidence. His serve and forehand were great and was playing very aggressively. Zhang’s superior form gives him an edge.
Prediction: Zhang in 4
Damian:
This is one of the most coin-flippy matches on Wednesday with Sonego’s horrific form this year maybe coming to an end with a good display to take out Humbert. Zhang is so up and down too, but his peak level is extremely strong and he already defeated the Italian once in 2023 (on grass). Your guess is as good as mine, perhaps the power ball-striking of Zhang is a little more impressive if in full flow.
Prediction: Zhang in 5
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Corentin Moutet vs Alexander Shevchenko
Tope:
Another match that could go either way. While both players scored superb wins in their first-round encounter, Moutet was more solid in his upset over Nicolas Jarry and he will have the home crowd behind him.
Prediction: Moutet in 4
Ateet:
Corentin Moutet played a sublime crafty clay court tennis in his win over the in-form Nicolas Jarry. Moutet is extremely talented and elevates his game even more when playing in front of his home crowd. Alexander survived a five-setter in his first round but Moutet’s craftiness might prove too much for him.
Prediction: Moutet in 4
Damian:
Moutet and his coach delivered a masterclass to beat Jarry in Round 1, starting the match a couple of days earlier by talking to the press and posting on social media. They made sure that the crowd support would be deafening and that everyone would remember the matchup history of Moutet and Jarry. Now the Frenchman has to do it again against an opponent he doesn’t have a beef with, but it’s a good chance for him to progress further into the draw.
Prediction: Moutet in 5
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Frances Tiafoe vs Denis Shapovalov
Tope:
Two players who know themselves well but interestingly haven’t met on clay despite playing each other six times. Denis Shapovalov is 4-2 on their head-to-head and he looked more solid as he demolished home favorite Luca Van-Assche in the first round. I’ll back the Canadian over Tiafoe, who’s only won two of his last seven.
Prediction: Shapovalov in 4
Ateet:
Frances Tiafoe can lose to anyone at the moment, and he almost did to the Italian qualifier. Denis Shapovalov is not in great form either but he has shown some glimpses of his best tennis recently and was much more convincing in his first-round match. Shapovalov leads the head-to-head 4-2 against Tiafoe and should win this.
Prediction: Shapovalov in 4
Damian:
Shapovalov probably won’t hit his best form until after the clay season, but for now he’s doing pretty okay on the dirt too. He’s probably in better shape than Tiafoe at the moment with the American barely scraping past Bellucci in the opening round. Shapovalov leads the head-to-head 4-2 and while it’s the first time they’ll be facing each other on clay, he’s still just a bit more convincing right now.
Prediction: Shapovalov in 4
Main Photo Credit: Susan Mullane-USA TODAY Sports