French Open Day 2 Preview: Four Must-See Matches

Day 1 of the 2018 French Open was rather newsworthy considering the small amount of matches that are played on the first Sunday in Paris.

For just the second time, the defending Roland Garros women’s singles champion lost in the first round, with Kateryna Kozlova’s upset of Jelena Ostapenko. The women’s side also lost another top 10 seed, with Venus Williams losing in her opening match for the second straight major. While the men’s side had no big upsets, there were several matches that went to a fifth set. Most notably, Fernando Verdasco survived a four hour, twenty-two-minute affair against Yoshihito Nishioka, which saw the Japanese player helped off the court in tears after suffering through cramps for much of the fifth set.

Day 2 has the potential to be a compelling day from beginning to end, as long as the potential rain stays away from the grounds of Roland Garros. The schedule on Monday includes many multiple-major winners in Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Maria Sharapova, Stan Wawrinka, Petra Kvitova, and Victoria Azarenka. Here’s a look at the most intriguing matchups on Monday.

Stan Wawrinka vs. Guillermo Garcia-Lopez

Is Stan in any condition to be a factor again in Paris? If his recent results are any indication, the answer is no. Wawrinka is only 4-6 on the year as he works to come back from knee surgery, and has lost five of his last six matches. Last week, the two-time defending Geneva champion won just four games against Marton Fucsovics. A finalist last year in Paris, Wawrinka’s ranking could plummet with an early loss this week. His opening round opponent is the same man who upset Stan in the first round of the 2014 French Open. Garcia-Lopez is an accomplished clay courter who also owns two other victories over Wawrinka, though Stan has eight wins of his own against Guillermo. A few days ago in Lyon, Garcia-Lopez came close to upsetting Dominic Thiem. This will be a significant challenge for Wawrinka, with a lot on the line for the former champion.

Victoria Azarenka vs. Katerina Siniakova

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This is only Azarenka’s seventh tournament in the past two years as she continues her comeback from giving birth and the subsequent custody battle that kept her away from the sport. She reminded us of her competitive skills when she fought her way to the semifinals in Miami, ousting three top 20 players in just her second tournament of 2018. She has made the quarterfinals or better at Roland Garros three times in her career, though not since her career-best semifinal run in 2013. Vika went just 1-2 in the clay lead-up events, but she’s capable of a deep run if she gets some momentum in the first week. Her opponent is no pushover, and had a breakout year in 2017. Siniakova won the first two titles of her career last year, one of which was on clay. In those tournaments, she had wins over Simona Halep, Johanna Konta, Caroline Garcia, and Caroline Wozniacki. The 22-year-old has slumped a bit in 2018, but I’m sure she’ll bounce back sooner than later. Will that day be today? The winner of this match has an open draw in front of them, with Ostapenko, Venus, and Konta all eliminated from this section of the draw on Day 1.

Caroline Wozniacki vs. Danielle Collins

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Following the career high of winning her first major at the Australian Open, Wozniacki has failed to follow up. Caroline hasn’t reached another tournament final since Melbourne. While she’s twice reached the quarterfinals at the French Open, she’s not been further than the third round in her other eight appearances. It feels like Wozniacki is ripe for another early-round loss in Paris, and Danielle Collins may be the right person for that task. Coming into 2018, Collins was ranked 160th in the world. Danielle won the WTA 125K event in Newport Beach in February, and then upset Madison Keys on her way to the round of 16 in Indian Wells. Later in March, she came through qualifying in Miami to go all the way to the semifinals, upsetting her idol, Venus Williams, in the quarters. The American also came through qualifying in both Madrid and Rome. Wozniacki could be the next women’s top 10 seed to exit Roland Garros.

Philipp Kohlschreiber vs. Borna Coric

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Coric was one of the hottest players on tour a few months ago, making the semis in Indian Wells and the quarters in Miami. But Borna simmered a bit on the clay, losing tight battles against Novak Djokovic and Dominic Thiem. His condition coming into Paris is questionable, as he retired in Rome with a neck injury. His opponent today is 13 years his elder, and has already had a dramatic clay court season. Kohlschreiber lost to David Ferrer in a David Cup heartbreaker, an epic five-set, tie-deciding match that went to 7-5 in the fifth. Just two days later, he lost in a final set tiebreak to the 617-ranked player in the world. Philipp quickly bounced back though, making the final in Munich and getting top 20 wins in Madrid and Rome over Roberto Bautista Agut and Jack Sock, respectively. Kohlschreiber leads the head-to-head against Coric 2-1, but Borna’s win was a significant one. Last year on the clay in Marrakech, Coric defeated Kohlschreiber in the final to win his first and only ATP title, saving five championship points. That last meeting must still be fresh in both men’s minds. Both players are usually tough outs, and I could easily see this going four or five sets, assuming Coric’s neck is feeling good again.

Day 2 order of play (time in GMT)