Olympics R2 previews and predictions: Paul vs. Mensik, Musetti vs. Navone

Tommy Paul and Lorenzo Musetti, who have been in great form this season, will take the court for second-round action at the Paris Olympics on Tuesday. Paul faces Jakub Mensik, while Musetti meets Mariano Navone.

Jakub Mensik vs. (9) Tommy Paul

Paul has been outstanding in 2024, to the extent that he is currently No. 10 in the race to Turin and still has what is arguably his favorite time of year–the U.S. summer hard-court swing–coming up. The American’s grass-court stretch featured a title at Queen’s Club and a quarterfinal performance at Wimbledon (lost to eventual champion Carlos Alcaraz in four nets). Showing no signs of slowing down, Paul scored a nice clay-court victory over Luciano Darderi in round one of the Paris Olympics on Sunday (6-3, 6-4).

Up next for the world No. 13 on Tuesday is first-ever meeting with Mensik, for whom the season has also been stellar. The 18-year-old Czech has earned 16 of his 19 tour-level wins in 2024, including a 6-3, 6-4 defeat of Alexander Shevchenko on Sunday. Mensik is one the most talented youngsters in the game, but he is not entirely comfortable on clay at this point. Paul is on fire on pretty much any surface these days, so look for the ninth seed to continue his winning ways.

Pick: Paul in 2

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(11) Lorenzo Musetti vs. Mariano Navone

Musetti and Navone will be going head-to-head for the second time in their careers on Monday. They previously squared off in the final of a clay-court Challenger tournament in Cagliari this spring, when Navone triumphed 7-5, 6-1.

With Musetti now playing the best tennis of his life, the story figures to be different at Roland Garros. The 16th-ranked Italian was runner-up at Queen’s Club (lost to Paul), advanced to the Wimbledon semis (lost to Novak Djokovic), and picked up another win on Sunday by beating Gael Monfils 6-1, 6-4 on Sunday. Musetti had zero days off after finishing runner-up in Kitzbuhel on Saturday, but he finally got some much-needed rest on Monday. Navone opened with a 6-2, 6-2 rout of Bastad champion Nuno Borges, continuing what has been a breakthrough 2024 campaign for the 37th-ranked Argentine. As good as Navone is on clay, Musetti is simply one of the hottest players on tour and will likely take care of business.

Pick: Musetti in 2

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