The French Open men’s tournament fills out the rest of the third round and so do our tennis picks. This half of the draw has been rocked by the announcement on Friday that Rafael Nadal has withdrawn from the tournament. It is the first time he has withdrawn from Roland Garros, the event he has won nine times. It kills his chances of winning the one Grand Slam event he was most likely to win this year. Marcel Granollers gets an automatic spot in the fourth round, leaving seven matches on Saturday for the men. The players who will be playing in Nadal’s quarter of the draw now know they have a great chance to reach the semifinals.
Looking back to Thursday’s action, we had a mixed day of results as we went 2-1 with our tennis picks. The sour note came in the form of Gilles Simon losing outright to Victor Troiki. That match only lasted three sets. However, we did cash with Stan Wawrinka and a John Isner. Isner made us sweat a little bit in his bout with Teymuraz Gabashvili. He was actually down 2-1 before finding a way to advance by winning the final two sets.
David Goffin vs. Nicolas Almagro
This is a matchup in which Almagro has the greater career, but Goffin has been the better player over the past two years. Almagro was sidelined for some time with an injury which greatly lowered his ranking, but he is steadily building back his game and making some progress. Yet, the big question with Almagro is how well he can play against top-15 players. He has not yet shown enough to suggest that he’s likely to beat such players. He could easily do it, but he needs to prove he can do it before he becomes a more solidified betting choice. Goffin made the semifinals in both Indian Wells and Miami, two Masters 1000 tournaments. He has learned how to play more consistently from week to week on tour, but performance in Grand Slam events remains a problem, because of the best-of-five-set structure which requires more from him on a physical level. This match could go either way, but Almagro seems to require a bigger burden of proof. Take Goffin with your tennis picks then.
Pick: Goffin in four sets
Ernests Gulbis vs. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga
This should be a very entertaining and big-hitting match. Both players love to go for their shots. It’s not always the smart play, but it’s always theatrical. Gulbis and Tsonga aren’t the most tactically astute people on the ATP Tour, but they have great athletic gifts and can punish both serves and groundstrokes. Gulbis loves to hit his two-handed backhand, which is his far stronger wing. He has a vulnerable forehand. Tsonga has a blistering forehand and excels more at that shot than his backhand, which he sometimes hits two-handed and other times one-handed. Both men can serve up a storm. Gulbis made the semifinals in 2014 in Roland Garros, but he still blows hot and cold. Tsonga is a No. 6 seed and has shown he can be more of a consistent force in men’s tennis. He should outlast Gulbis, so take Tsonga with your tennis picks.
Pick: Tsonga in four sets
Borna Coric vs. Roberto Bautista Agut
This is a matchup in which the youth of Coric goes up against the experience of Bautista Agut. One of the themes of this season has been that the younger generation (Nick Kyrgios, Alexander Zverev, Dominic Thiem) has had a hard time breaking through to the upper reaches of the ATP. Coric has been one of several younger players who has been knocked back by older veterans. Coric could easily win this, because he has more natural talent than Bautista Agut, but older players have learned how to survive on the tour. For now, Bautista Agut is probably the better choice – not a lock, but better, given what’s happened this year and over the past 12 months at the Grand Slams. Take Agut with your tennis picks.
Pick: Bautista Agut in four sets
