RICKY’S PREVIEWS AND PICK FOR ROUND TWO OF MEN’S SINGLES AT THE FRENCH OPEN TENNIS

Ricky’s previews and pick for round two of men’s singles at the French Open

 

By Ricky Dimon

 

The so-called business end of the tournament is still far, far away, but we don’t have to wait for a whole host of intriguing matches to grace the French Open schedule of play. Look no further than the men’s singles second-round lineup to whet your tennis appetite.

 

It includes a healthy mix of favorites, surprises, youngsters, veterans, cool customers, and combustible hot-heads. The result should be non-stop entertainment on Wednesday and Thursday at Roland Garros.

 

Let’s take a look at what’s in store:

 

(2) Roger Federer vs. Marcel Granollers: Federer lost the first set to Granollers at the 2014 U.S. Open…then promptly served up a triple-breadstick to the Spaniard. It would not be unexpected to see Federer bake some French baguettes this time around. Bagels may also be involved, as this should be extremely straightforward for the 2009 champion.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(21) Pablo Cuevas vs. Dominic Thiem: This could be one of the best matches of the second round. Cuevas is pretty much a clay-court specialist and Thiem–although he is an all-court player–has done some of his best work on the slow stuff. The young Austrian is full of confidence after capturing his first ATP title last week in Nice. Nice going, Dominic!

 

(13) Gael Monfils vs. Diego Schwartzman: Schwartzman has a striking resemblance to New York Times tennis writer Ben Rothenberg. Assuming Monfils’ is healthy, the Frenchman might make Schwartzman’s tennis game look like that of Rothenberg, too. Schwartzman will fight, but this is just a large discrepancy in talent level.

 

(12) Gilles Simon vs. Martin Klizan: The first-ever meeting between these two players ended in Klizan retirement. The second one never even started, as Klizan withdrew. A similar development would not come as shock as both men have been injured (Klizan: wrist, Simon: neck) during this clay-court swing. Get the trainers ready!

 

(24) Ernests Gulbis vs. (WC) Nicolas Mahut: How on Earth are both Gulbis and Mahut in the second round? Gulbis was 2-12 this season prior to the French Open and Mahut was 3-12 lifetime at this event prior to winning his match on Sunday. One of these two is actually going to be in the third round. Hard to believe.

 

Steve Johnson vs. Sergiy Stakhovsky: I had Guillermo Garcia-Lopez in the quarterfinals. And why not? GGL was playing great and is solid on clay. But Johnson did America proud by upsetting the Spaniard in five sets. Johnson deserves a big reward for that kind of effort and he is getting one: the opportunity to play Stakhovsky on CLAY.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(4) Tomas Berdych vs. Radek Stepanek: The bromance in this one could be off the charts. After all, Berdych and Stepanek are occasional doubles partners who have pretty much single-handedly delivered two Davis Cup titles to the Czech Republic. The question is: just how bad does Berdych want to beat him? Because he can probably beat Stepanek just about as bad as he wants.

 

(28) Fabio Fognini vs. Benoit Paire: !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

(5) Kei Nishikori vs. Thomaz Bellucci: In terms of quality, this should be close to the cream of the crop in round two. Nishikori is 32-7 this season. Bellucci is 18-5 in his last 12 matches and he is awesome on clay. Should be fun.

 

(9) Marin Cilic vs. (Q) Andrea Arnaboldi: Arnaboldi’s French Open run is already the stuff of legend. First he beat Pierre-Hugues Herbert 27-25 in the third set for the longest qualifying match in Roland Garros history (four hours and 26 minutes). He then came back from a two-sets-to-love deficit against James Duckworth and saved a match point in the process. Epic.

 

(16) John Isner vs. Jeremy Chardy: If you like massive serving, huge forehands, and points that last somewhere between zero and two shots, Isner vs. Chardy is for you. If you like 80-ball rallies between Monfils and Simon, Isner vs. Chardy is not for you. Hope this helps.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(29) Nick Kyrgios vs. (Q) Kyle Edmund: It has already been a breakthrough French Open for Edmund. He will be able to take a break after this match, because Kyrgios is going to overwhelm him. Get ready for Kyrgios vs. Andy Murray in round three!

 

(6) Rafael Nadal vs. Nicolas Almagro: This could be Nadal’s toughest test prior to a quarterfinal showdown with Novak Djokovic. Then again, it could not be. You just never know what Almagro is going to bring to the table. Of course, these days you don’t really know what to expect from Nadal, either.

 

(18) Tommy Robredo vs. Borna Coric: Robredo is like 500 years old. Coric is like five years old. It’s hard to say whether it will be youth or experience that has the edge. I can’t wait to find out, because this match could be really, really good.

 

Jack Sock vs. Pablo Carreno Busta: Sock!!!! The guy is absolutely on fire this season and his streak reached new heights with a straight-set thrashing of Grigor Dimitrov in the first round. Carreno Busta will have a chance on clay, but Sock is brimming with confidence.

 

(27) Bernard Tomic vs. Thanasi Kokkinakis: Too bad this one isn’t at the Australian Open. But no matter; these kids will put on quite a show wherever they are. The winner will earn the right to get slaughtered by Djokovic on Saturday.

 

Ricky contributes to 10sballs.com and also maintains his own tennis website, The Grandstand.

Topics: 10sballs, Atp World Tour, French Open Tennis, Paris, Ricky Dimon, Roland Garros, Tennis News

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