The French Open women’s tournament shifts into the second day of second-round play at Stade Roland Garros and so do our tennis picks. Wednesday was a quieter day without the big upsets of Tuesday. That led to a solid day for us with our tennis picks as we went 3-0. We really didn’t have to sweat much for the day. We had Sloane Stephens to advance past and she had no problems with Veronica Cepede. The latter pushed her to a tiebreak in the first set but then folded in the second set, 6-1. We also had Agnieszka Radwanska to beat Caroline Garcia and she did exactly that in straight sets. Lastly, we had Irina Camela Begu to turn aside CoCo Vandeweghe, but we knew going in that this would be our riskiest prediction. Begu needed the full three sets and then some as she managed to take the deciding frame 10-8. We’ll take it, though as it helped us sweep the board.
Looking ahead to Thursday, the players left in the tournament know that if they can get through some of these early-round matches, they should have highly favorable matches to look forward to in the third round and possibly beyond.
Timea Babos vs. Kristina Mladenovic
This match should be extremely close. Mladenovic made the U.S. Open quarterfinals last September in New York, but she hasn’t really lived up to that standards in the several months since that career-high achievement. She’s a French player and will therefore get a lot of crowd support, but that won’t matter if her game is not up to par. Babos has scored a few occasional victories of note against other members of the top 50 this season, but she hasn’t yet established the consistency which makes her a next-level threat in this or any other tournament of importance. These players both exist on a similar level. What can perhaps tip the scales in one direction? Simply that Mladenovic is a little more experienced in Grand Slam tournaments and has recently been able to make a deep run. That kind of familiarity could give her a slight but noticeable edge. Go with her for your tennis picks.
Pick: Mladenovic in three sets
Venus Williams vs. Louisa Chirico
This is a match in which everything you might think you know about these players should be chucked out the door – or close to it. You know that Venus Williams has rarely been good on clay. This is not a tournament in which she expects to go deep, and that’s been the case for some time. However, other than that detail, you would think Venus, a seven-time major champion, would be able to find a way around the 19-year-old Chirico, a player who is just beginning her career on the regular WTA Tour. Chirico did not get direct entry into the main draw of the recent WTA Premier Mandatory event in Madrid. She flew to Spain hoping to take advantage of a pullout by another player; get into the qualifying rounds; qualify; and then win a few main-draw matches. Sure enough, that’s exactly what happened. She’s in her learning stages, while Venus has been there and done that. Venus has the experience, but why should not disregard that?
Venus wore a wrap around one of her legs in her first-round match. She is not fully healthy, and as long as Chirico does not make a lot of mistakes, she should eventually be able to wear down Venus and win. She’s the better choice for your tennis picks.
Pick: Chirico in three sets
Virginie Razzano vs. Daria Kasatkina
This is a match which should be a routine straight-setter. Kasatkina is young and has a lot of energy. Razzano, in her 30s, did beat Serena Williams a few years ago at the French Open, but she’s rarely been good enough to reach the third round of a Grand Slam event. She is not that fast, and only moderately skilled. Kasatkina has so much more upside and should win easily. She’s the better choice for your picks in this one.
Pick: Kasatkina in straight sets
