The French Open men’s tournament carries forward into the round of 32 and so do our tennis picks. On Thursday, we went had a productive day as we cashed all three of our tennis picks. David Ferrer was one of our selections to beat Juan Monaco and he did exactly that. He needed four sets but he got the job done. We also had Marcel Granollers to beat Nicolas Mahut and he had a relatively easy time. Mahut had to retire in the third set but he won only five games prior to withdrawing in the third set. Lastly, we had Jo-Wilfried Tsonga to beat Marcos Baghdatis and that proved to be a sweat. He needed the full five sets to do so but he outlasted him. Tsonga actually lost the first two sets before coming all the way back.
Looking ahead to Friday, Stan Wawrinka almost lost in round one. Can he stabilize in round three? That’s just one of the questions waiting to be answered as this tournament continues.
Jeremy Chardy vs. Stan Wawrinka
This is a matchup in which Wawrinka should not feel safe. Wawrinka was pushed to five sets in the first round by Lukas Rosol, a player who takes a lot of chances and hits big, trying to end points with winners. Rosol blows hot and cold, and when he’s on, his opponents are in trouble if they’re not sharp. This was the case for two of the first three sets in the Rosol-Wawrinka match, but in the final two sets, Wawrinka stopped giving away cheap points with errors, and Rosol could not maintain what he established in most of the first three sets.
Jeremy Chardy, Wawrinka’s opponent in this round, is fairly similar to Rosol, but a little more controlled. Chardy can crush his forehand and can play a very powerful, compact game which puts opponents on the defensive. He could definitely cause trouble if Wawrinka is not on his game. However, the wake-up call in round one against Rosol might be just the thing which will make Wawrinka ready for the challenge here. Chardy will have a French crowd on his side, but Wawrinka is the defending champion, and he’s probably not going to give up his crown to a player outside the top 20. It will probably require a better player to dethrone the Roland Garros title-holder. Take Wawrinka with your tennis picks.
Pick: Wawrinka in four sets
Gilles Simon vs. Viktor Troicki
This should be a long and close match. Like the Ferrer-Monaco match on Thursday, it should go five sets not because both players are so great, but because they’re in very mediocre periods of their careers. Troicki and Simon are both talented, but they find it hard to play the same steady kind of tennis throughout a match. It could be that one player will take charge and win this in straights, but history would suggest that if one player wins the first set, the other will win the second, and these men will fight for a territorial advantage all afternoon, finding it hard to easily put the other one away. Who would win a fifth set? Simon has the French crowd squarely behind him, and Troicki does not handle adverse situations very well. Give Simon a slight nudge and take him with your tennis picks.
Pick: Simon in five sets
John Isner vs. Teymuraz Gabashvili
This is a matchup in which Isner has a great draw. Isner is in trouble on clay against great defenders and returners who can keep balls in play and create the extended rallies which take away Isner’s legs. Isner is a big, tall man, which means the less running he does, the better. Players who make him run are the worst kinds of opponents. Players who try to win points quickly are the best opponents, especially if they’re not blessed with top-10 or top-20 talent. That’s Gabashvili. Isner should be able to win as long as his serve is solid. Take Isner with your tennis picks.
Pick: Isner in four sets
