French Open R2 previews and predictions: Ruud vs. Ruusuvuori, Tiafoe vs. Goffin

Casper Ruud ended Jo-Wilfried Tsonga’s career on Tuesday and the Norwegian will be back on the court for Thursday action against Emil Ruusuvuori. Frances Tiafoe vs. David Goffin is another intriguing matchup.

(8) Casper Ruud vs. Emil Ruusuvuori

Ruud and Ruusuvuori will be going head-to-head for the third time in their careers when they clash in round two of the French Open on Thursday. Both of their previous encounters have gone Ruud’s way in dominant fashion; in straight sets at the 2020 U.S. Open and 6-2, 6-2 earlier this spring in Barcelona.

That most recent result is especially unsurprising because Ruud is one of the best clay-courters in the world and Ruusuvuori is more comfortable on hard courts. The 23-year-old Finn needed five sets to get past a struggling Ugo Humbert on Tuesday, so that is not ideal preparation for a much tougher second-round matchup. Ruud also endured a difficult opener, but that wasn’t an easy situation for him in the Frenchman’s final match and Tsonga treated the home crowd to an impressive performance. Count on the eighth-ranked Norwegian settling down and once again taking care of business with ease against Ruusuvuori.

Pick: Ruud in 3

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WWW: Ruud vs. Ruusuvuori?


(24) Frances Tiafoe vs. David Goffin

It took Tiafoe eight years to win a main-draw match at Roland Garros (six main-draw losses and one in qualifying), but he finally did it on Tuesday. The 27th-ranked American silenced the French fans with a 7-5, 7-5, 7-6(5) victory over Benjamin Bonzi.

Tiafoe will have the crowd against him again on Thursday, as Goffin always enjoys raucous support from the Belgian contingent in Paris. Of course, it’s not like he needs any extra help. Goffin is back up to No. 48 in the world thanks in part to a title in Marrakech plus third-round performances in Monte-Carlo and Madrid. The 31-year-old opened on Tuesday with a 6-4, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 defeat of Jiri Lehecka. Additional good news for Goffin is that he leads the head-to-head series with Tiafoe 3-1. The veteran has the edge in matchup history, the surface, and past Roland Garros performaces, so this should be mostly straightforward.

Pick: Goffin in 4

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WWW: Tiafoe vs. Goffin?

6 Comments on French Open R2 previews and predictions: Ruud vs. Ruusuvuori, Tiafoe vs. Goffin

  1. I guess it would be just as awkward when Rafa gets to play FAA, lol! However, we’ll c how awkward it is when Novak plays later today 🤣

    • Toni says he won’t be courtside if they have to play each other. It would still be awkward for Toni to advise Felix how to beat Rafa. But Toni is coaching Felix with Rafa’s blessing as part of services provided by the academy.

  2. Why nobody is talking about Meddy? Meddy has just come back from surgery break but he is playing well so far.

    He is now playing against Djere in R2 and looks like he’s on his way to a win. He’s really a deserved top two player, unlike the other four top ten players who have to go five sets to win their R1 or R2 matches, and clay is not his best surface (may be his worst).

  3. Yeah Lucky!! I watched him today and I agree, Med”s playing well. But it’s good to be under the radar at times, it works out for the best case in point Rafa in 2009 at the AO when no one was talking about him to even make the final far less winning it……and of course the rest is HIStory!!! 😀

    Meanwhile, Today I’ve watched some great tennis! Happy for Ymer and now Tsistipas is caught up in a close 4th set, lol!!!

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