10SBALLS SHARES RICKY’S PICKS FOR MONDAY AT THE FRENCH OPEN TENNIS: DJOKOVIC VS. BAUTISTA AGUT AND BERDYCH VS. FERRER

Written by: Staff on 29th May 2016

French Open tennis tournament at Roland Garros

10SBALLS SHARES RICKY'S PICKS FOR MONDAY AT THE FRENCH OPEN TENNIS: DJOKOVIC VS. BAUTISTA AGUT AND BERDYCH VS. FERRER

epa05333544 David Ferrer of Spain in action against Feliciano Lopez of Spain during their men's single third round match at the French Open tennis tournament at Roland Garros in Paris, France, 28 May 2016.??? EPA/ROBERT GHEMENT |

By Ricky Dimon

There has been plenty of carnage on the men’s side of the French Open, for various reasons, but Novak Djokovic has remain unscathed through three rounds. He will continue his campaign on Monday against Roberto Bautista Agut. Tomas Berdych and David Ferrer are also aiming for a spot in the quarterfinals.

Ricky previews the action and makes his predictions.

(1) Novak Djokovic vs. (14) Roberto Bautista Agut

Novak Djokovic of Serbia plays against Aljaz Bedene of Britain during their men’s single third round match at the French Open tennis tournament at Roland Garros in Paris, France, 28 May 2016. EPA/ROBERT GHEMENT

Djokovic’s quest for a first French Open title is off to an ideal start–especially relative to the unfortunate plights of other contenders. Roger Federer, for example withdrew before the tournament even started. So did Gael Monfils. Rafael Nadal pulled out after two matches. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga retired from his third-round contest on Saturday. Stan Wawrinka has played a five-setter. So has Kei Nishikori. Andy Murray has played two.

Djokovic, however, is safely through to the last 16 following straight-set victories over Yen-Hsun Lu, Steve Darcis, and Aljaz Bedene. The top seed’s clay-court preparation was far from ideal, but he at least managed to lift the Madrid winner’s trophy to go along with a runner-up showing in Rome.

Up next for Djokovic on Monday is a fifth career contest with Bautista Agut, who is 0-4 in the head-to-head series and 0-9 in total sets. They squared off in round four of the 2015 U.S. Open, where the Serb battled to a hard-fought 6-3, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 victory. Their only previous clay-court meeting came earlier this month in Madrid, with Djokovic dominating 6-2, 6-1. Bautista Agut is the kind of rock-solid player who generally takes care of opponents whom he should beat while often struggling at the hands of higher-ranked foes. The Spaniard, who has advanced by taking out Dmitry Tursunov, Paul-Henri Mathieu, and Borna Coric, has lost more than 20 consecutive matches against top 10 players other than Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. Another lopsided setback could be in store.

Pick: Djokovic in 3

(11) David Ferrer vs. (7) Tomas Berdych

These two struggling veterans may have been counted out prior to their arrivals at Roland Garros, but one will be in the quarterfinals after they meet for the 15th time in their careers. Ferrer is leading the head-to-head series 8-6, but Berdych has won three of their five clay-court contests. They just recently collided at the Madrid Masters, where Berdych got the job done 7-6(8), 7-5. But the Madrid conditions are conducive to Berdych’s game, as the balls fly through the air and generally bounce faster off the court than they do in most clay-court situations.

The No. 7 seed found the conditions much less satisfying in Rome, where he got double-bageled by David Goffin in the third round. That, along with mostly lackluster results throughout the 2016 campaign, prompted Berdych to part ways with coach Dani Vallverdu. But the ship is being righted in Paris with victories over Vasek Pospisil, Malek Jaziri, and Pablo Cuevas. Similarly, Ferrer has won three matches at a tournament for just the second time this season and for the first time since the Australian Open. The Spaniard, who has slipped to No. 11 in the world, punched his ticket to the last 16 by beating Evgeny Donskoy, Juan Monaco, and Feliciano Lopez, surrendering just one set to Monaco in the process.

Even though Ferrer is no longer at his peak, you generally know what he is going to offer every time he takes the court. Berdych, on the other hand, is the proverbial wild card who really has the outcome of this match in his hands. Sometimes that can be a good thing; right now, the opposite may be true. Ferrer’s relentless return of serve and consistent groundstrokes may be able to coax an inconsistent Berdych into too many errors.

Pick: Ferrer in 4