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 Ben Shelton vs Kei Nishikori, Carlos Alcaraz vs Jesper De Jong, 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
Sebastian Korda vs Soon-woo Kwon
Tope:
While Kwon can be an unpredictable player, Sebastian Korda should have far too much for him. Wouldn’t be surprising if the South Korean manages to nick in a set in what should be a Korda win.
Prediction: Korda in 4
Ateet:
Sebastian Korda played a clean match in his first round and was only broken once. Soon-woo Kwon played one of his best matches on clay to beat Emil Ruusuvuori in his opening match easily. If he can bring that level again then Korda will have a match on his hands. Korda is yet to win consecutive matches on clay this year and has a great chance to do so.
Prediction: Korda in 4
Damian:
Kwon surprised everyone by taking out Ruusuvuori in straight sets in round one, although that probably says more about the Finn than his own new-found clay quality. Korda should really enjoy this draw with the one concern being the physio treatments he received in his opener against Mayot. He still got through that one in straights though and probably should be fine here as well.
Prediction: Korda in 3
Matteo Arnaldi vs Alexandre Muller
Tope:
This promises to be one of the matches to look forward to. While Muller bagged straight sets win over a disillusioned Luca Nardi in the first round, Arnaldi looked more assured in his comfortable win over home boy, Arthur Fils and I’ll back to send another French player packing.
Prediction: Arnaldi in 4
Ateet:
Matteo Arnaldi is always dangerous on clay and someone to look out for. He has a good pair of wheels and has variety in his game and he showed that against Arthur Fils in the first round. Alexandre Muller has been in good form and easily dispatched his first-round opponent in straight sets. The Frenchman will have extra confidence with the crowd and Arnaldi has already played a match against a French player. This could go either way.
Prediction: Muller in 5
Damian:
Arnaldi took down Fils again and that’s a matchup where the Italian plays with so much clarity, shrinking the court and forcing him to overhit. It’s opponents like Muller he’s struggling with recently as he can’t quite get the balance right. While he is the more talented player, the Frenchman has got some form back too and he’ll make Arnaldi have to play extremely sharp to have a shot at claiming the win. That’s just what he does.
Prediction: Muller in 5
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Hubert Hurkacz vs Brandon Nakashima
Tope:
If we’re going to judge both players by their first-round performances, then the upset bells are out here. If Nakashima can turn the Pole’s big serves into rallies, there’s no reason he can’t hold out for a win.
Prediction: Nakashima in 5
Ateet:
Hubert Hurkacz had some great matches at Roland Garros last year and was pushed in his first-round match. He was trailing two sets to one against Shintaro Mochizuki but found a way through his serve to win. Brandon Nakashima’s serve was on fire in his opening round match and was not broken throughout. He is a dangerous player and can take the game to Hurkacz.
Prediction: Hurkacz in 4
Damian:
Hurkacz wasted a lot of time on court in round one against Mochizuki, but we’re used to plenty of shenanigans from the Pole in early Grand Slam matches. He’s still literally a second-week run away from by far his best clay season ever and the draw looks fairly inviting. He will need that forehand from the last two months back though as Nakashima is not a random clay-courter anymore.
Prediction: Hurkacz in 4
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Jannik Sinner vs Richard Gasquet
Tope:
Richard Gasquet rolled back the years to upset Borna Coric in the first round albeit with two tie-breakers. It will be a decent memory to what should be his last French Open of his career as he steps on court against one of the true elites of the game. The Italian will take this in straight sets.
Prediction: Sinner in 3
Ateet:
Jannik Sinner looked good in hirs first match considering he didn’t play for some time. He was rusty but did a good job in pressure moments (won four of five points at 30-all) and saving break points. He looked like he was moving without issues. He faces Richard Gasquet in what promises to be a fun one. Gasquet won convincingly against Borna Coric and played some awesome points. Sinner should win this but it might get interesting with the fiery French crowd.
Prediction: Sinner in 3
Damian:
Sinner says his hip is back to 100% and he only needs to get match sharp now. Based on his Eubanks win he’s probably not lying, but the draw also made it rather tough for him to lose. It’s the same story here as while Gasquet rolled back the years in round one and was fine physically after three hours of play, doing the same at Sinner’s intensity and actually taking three sets off the No. 2 seed seems like a fantasy right now.
Prediction: Sinner in 3
Main Photo Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports