French Open R1 previews and predictions: Thiem vs. Cilic, Medvedev vs. Fucsovics

U.S. Open champion Dominic Thiem and semifinalist Daniil Medvedev will kick off their French Open campaigns on Monday. Thiem collides with fellow Grand Slam winner Marin Cilic, while Medvedev goes up against Marton Fucsovics.

Marin Cilic vs. (3) Dominic Thiem

Thiem’s spoils of winning the U.S. Open–the trophy, money, 2000 ranking points, and simply becoming a Grand Slam champion–did not spill over to the French Open. Last week’s draw ceremony did the third-ranked Austrian no favors, as he has to go up against Cilic right off the bat and it won’t get any easier if he does manage to prevail on Monday.

The good news for Thiem is that he leads the head-to-head series 3-0 after just defeating Cilic 6-2, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 during third-round action in New York. The 27-year-old has not played since his triumph, while Cilic took the court in Rome and reached the round of 16. Although the 31-year-old Croat is a former major winner himself (2014 U.S. Open), he has slumped to 40th in the world and probably won’t be able to capitalize on clay even if Thiem has not yet rounded back into his best form.

Pick: Thiem in 4

(4) Daniil Medvedev vs. Marton Fucsovics

Amazingly enough, Medvedev has never won a match at the French Open (0-3). He also has not won a match on clay this season (0-1). In his only appearance in between the two recent majors, the U.S. Open semifinalist lost his Hamburg opener to Ugo Humbert.

Medvedev may have to recapture his top level in a hurry because Fucsovics is not an easy first-round opponent. However, the good news for the fifth-ranked Russian is the same as it is for Thiem: he also leads his respective head-to-head series 3-0, although the lone clay-court clash with Fucsovics was extremely competitive (Medvedev prevailed 6-7(4), 6-2, 7-5 at the 2018 Monte-Carlo Masters). Fucsovics has not played a single match since the U.S. Open, so the Hungarian may be even more rusty than Medvedev on this surface.

Pick: Medvedev in 4