The French Open tournament now flows into the second round. There is only one first-round match which has not been completed, and that will finish on Wednesday, when Jo-Wilfried Tsonga tries to survive an upset bid from Renzo Olivo, who is ranked at number 91. That match might have gained the attention of a lot of seeded players, who will face unseeded opponents on Wednesday. Before we move ahead to Wednesday, though, let’s look back at Tuesday to see how we did.
On the whole, we had a fairly productive day by going 3-0 with our tennis picks. We also went 3-0 on the women’s side too. On the men’s side, we did have one challenging match as we went with John Isner, who wasn’t supposed to have any problems with Jordan Thompson. However, Thompson actually took the second set and nearly the third too as the two players needed a tiebreaker in the third. At any rate, Isner squeaked by in the third and secured the 6-3, 4-6, 7-6, 6-3 win for us. We also had Kyle Edmund, who had fewer problems with his opponent. He took out Gastao Elias in straight sets with relative ease. We also went with Frenchman Gael Monfils, who also didn’t have to sweat too much. Monfils ousted Dustin Brown in straight sets. Brown only won a total of nine games in total in the entire match.
Here are three examples of seeded-versus-unseeded matchups. Which ones have the best potential to produce upsets?
Lucas Pouille vs. Thomaz Bellucci
There is a lot of intrigue surrounding this match. Pouille did not play well in the first round, but he came back from a two sets to one deficit to beat Julien Benneteau in five sets. Pouille is a fighter, and his skills have been revealed in a number of circumstances in recent years. He beat Rafael Nadal in a long U.S. Open match last September. Earlier this year, he made his way to a Masters 1000 semifinal in Monte Carlo, the second straight year he made a Masters semifinal on clay (having done the same in Rome last year). Pouille plays good defense and he doesn’t easily bail out of matches. That’s the kind of player who should give Bellucci problems. Bellucci has a lot of imposing shots, but he is very error-prone, and his shots will break down against a good defensive player who forces him to hit a lot of shots. Bellucci probably won’t be able to get on top of points often enough to tip the balance of power in his favor. Pouille is the better choice in what should be a competitive match.
Pick: Pouille in four sets
Benjamin Bonzi vs. Albert Ramos-Vinolas
This should be straightforward. As good as Pouille is, Ramos-Vinolas beat him in the Monte Carlo semifinals earlier this year. Ramos-Vinolas made his first Masters 1000 final. Ramos-Vinolas has enjoyed a very solid clay season. He is extremely comfortable on the surface, so a player of equal or slightly better athleticism (or clay credentials) is needed to beat him. Bonzi, who has played very few main draws at Grand Slam events, is too inexperienced and obscure to be given the benefit of the doubt in a player comparison. Ramos-Vinolas is the known player here, but more importantly, a player with a game solid enough to merit considerable confidence in the second round. It’s highly unlikely he’ll lose in this situation.
Pick: Ramos-Vinolas in straight sets
Mikhail Kukushkin vs. Roberto Bautista Agut
This is a matchup in which Kukushkin has the ability to hit through the court and gain a measure of penetration which will keep Bautista Agut defensive and on his back heel. Kukushkin, however, rarely sustains his best tennis for more than one and a half to two sets per match. In a best of five set match, Bautista Agut has better endurance and a game less inclined to dissolve into mistakes. As long as Agut can split the first two sets at worst, he should be able to get stronger as the match goes on and ultimately win.
Pick: Bautista Agut in four sets
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