The French Open women’s tournament arrives at second-round play at Stade Roland Garros and so do our tennis picks. There were a number of upsets in the first round, one of which cost us. Third-seeded Angelique Kerber (the Australian Open champion) experienced discomfort with her shoulder, but Kiki Bertens was also good enough to beat her. We had seen Bertens play well recently (in Holland) and avoided going against her. However, we did have Victoria Azarenka in what was supposed to be an easy matchup. Instead, she suffered a knee injury, and Karin Knapp was able to take advantage of it. Azarenka was forced to retire in the third set. Even though we lost with Azarenka, we still went 2-1 on the day. We cashed with Serena Williams, who easily disposed of Magdalena Rybarikova. The challenger only won two games the entire match. As for our other pick, we had Ana Ivanovic and she ended up dumping Oceane Dodin in three sets. She won the first set 6-0, then dropped the second set 7-5 but won the deciding set 6-2.
There are lots of opportunities for players to make deep runs. Who will take advantage? Here are our tennis picks for Wednesday.
CoCo Vandeweghe vs. Irina-Camelia Begu
This match should lean toward Begu, who had a very solid clay season in Madrid and Rome. Begun made the quarterfinals in Madrid and followed that up with a run to the semifinals in Rome. She has played a lot of good tennis lately, and she didn’t collapse against Serena Williams in the Rome semifinals. She made Serena earn a victory in that match. She should be able to play better defense and make use of the slower clay surface, which will make it harder for the hard-serving Vandeweghe to win lots of quick and easy points. Vandeweghe needs those easy points to feel good about herself, and the chances are that in this match, she won’t win enough of them. Begu is definitely the better choice on clay – this would not be the case on grass at Wimbledon or on hardcourts, but it’s the right play on European clay.
Pick: Begu in three sets
Veronica Cepede Royg vs. Sloane Stephens
This is a match in which Cepede Royg is the upstart trying to pull off the huge upset. Cepede Royg has not been a regular presence in the main draws of WTA Tour events. She only occasionally surfaces, and making the second round of the French Open rates as a big accomplishment for her. She has already ensured that this French Open paycheck will be one of her biggest take-home earnings this year. In many ways, she can simply be happy to have gotten this far. She does not possess high expectations.
It’s different for Stephens, a former Australian Open semifinalist. Stephens played Serena Williams closely at last year’s French Open in the fourth round. She went through a period of time in which she reached the fourth round or better in several straight Grand Slam tournaments. She is viewed by many people to have the talent to go deep into the biggest tournaments of the year. Stephens does struggle these days in major tournaments. She lost early in the 2016 Australian Open, and she hasn’t been a consistent player this season. However, she knows she has to win this match. That will drive her to a set-straight win. Take her with your tennis picks.
Pick: Stephens in straight sets
Caroline Garcia vs. Agnieszka Radwanska
This is a match which could get messy for Radwanska, the No. 2 seed. Garcia is a French player, playing at Roland Garros. She’ll have the crowd on her side, and she has enough natural talent that she used to be viewed as one of the best professional prospects around. Radwanska should win, but Garcia might catch fire for 30 minutes and find a way to steal one set. She’s the better choice for your tennis picks in this spot.
Pick: Radwanska in three sets
