RICKY’S PREVIEW AND PICKS FOR DAY 2 AT THE 2017 FRENCH OPEN TENNIS INCLUDING RAFAEL NADAL

Written by: Staff on 28th May 2017

French Open tennis tournament at Roland Garros

RICKY'S PREVIEW AND PICKS FOR DAY 2 AT THE 2017 FRENCH OPEN TENNIS INCLUDING RAFAEL NADAL

epa05996090 Staff member waters the court as Thomaz Bellucci of Brazil plays against Dusan Lajovic of Serbia during their men?s 1st round single match during the French Open tennis tournament at Roland Garros in Paris, France, 28 May 2017. EPA/TATYANA ZENKOVICH |

Ricky’s preview and picks for Day 2 at the French Open, including Nadal vs. Paire

By Ricky Dimon also known as DIMONATOR

Rafael Nadal will kick off his French Open campaign on Monday when he takes the court against Benoit Paire. Alexander Zverev, Fernando Verdasco, Jack Sock, and Jiri Vesely are also on the schedule. Ricky previews three of the marquee men’s matchups and makes his predictions.

Benoit Paire vs. (4) Rafael Nadal

Nadal will begin another bid for his 10th French Open title on Monday. The Spaniard was not quite perfect on clay prior to Roland Garros, but his preparation could hardly have gone any better. Nadal captured titles in Monte-Carlo, Barcelona, and Madrid before getting some extra rest in the form of a Rome quarterfinal loss to Dominic Thiem. The former world No. 1 is 72-2 lifetime on the red clay of Paris and he may already be 77-2 with 10 titles if not for a sudden withdrawal from last year’s event due to a wrist injury.

This marks the third meeting between Nadal and Paire, and the first since 2013 when the 14-time major champion got the job done 7-6(2), 6-2 in Barcelona and 6-3, 6-4 immediately thereafter in Madrid. Paire is the one with home-court advantage this time around, but other than that there is nothing to like about his chances. The Frenchman has played just about every week this year and is 17-15 for his efforts, including a 6-5 record on clay with a semifinal showing in Marrakech. Paire has never done much at the French Open (7-7 lifetime) and there is no reason to think anything will change now that he has been dealt the absolute toughest of draws. Nadal has to be chomping at the bit for a chance to make amends for last year’s French Open bad luck, so a dominant win should be in order.

Pick: Nadal in 3

(9) Alexander Zverev vs. Fernando Verdasco

Zverev has been one of the best players on the entire tour this year and he is coming off the biggest title of his career at the Rome Masters, but the French Open draw gave him no rewards. The 20-year-old German could face Pablo Cuevas in the third round and Kei Nishikori in the last 16 just to reach the quarterfinals. Before that, however, Zverev must survive an opening test against Verdasco on Monday. The head-to-head series stands at 1-1, with Verdasco prevailing 6-7(2), 6-3, 6-3 on the indoor hard courts of Metz before Zverev just recently getting the job done 7-5, 6-3 in the Madrid first round.

Zverev’s Rome run included victories over Fognini, Milos Raonic, John Isner, and Novak Djokovic–the latter via a 6-4, 6-3 victory in the final. He is into the top 10 for the first time and he is somewhere between confident enough and cocky enough to know he belongs there–and thus he is likely to stay there rather than fizzle out. Verdasco, a former top 10 player (career-high of No. 7) , currently finds himself at 37th now that he appears to have exited his prime at 33 years old. The veteran, who is a mediocre 14-11 this year, will likely be the victim of too many backhand-to-backhand rallies against the red-hot Zverev.

Pick: Zverev in 4

(14) Jack Sock vs. Jiri Vesely

Sock and Vesely will be facing each other for the fifth time in their careers and for the third time this season when they meet again on Monday. The head-to-head series stands at 3-1 in favor of Sock, who has won all three of their previous ATP-level encounters–including 6-3, 7-6(0) a few months ago in Miami and 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(1) just a couple of weeks back in Rome. Vesely’s lone victory came via a 4-6, 6-4, 7-6(4) decision on the clay courts of a Czech Republic-based Challenger in 2013.

Even though Sock lists clay right up there with a hard court as his favorite surface, he has cooled off just a bit following a torrid start to the 2017 campaign. The 15th-ranked American fell to Steve Johnson in the Houston semis, to Nicolas Mahut in round one in Madrid, and he had to face Nadal in the Rome third round (lost 6-3, 6-4). Vesely has exited in the second round from four consecutive ATP-level tournaments since reaching the Marrakech semifinals in April. The Czech is no slouch on any surface, but he would definitely prefer to contest this particular matchup on grass. Count on Sock improving to 3-0 against Vesely in 2017.

Pick: Sock in 4