French Open R1 previews and predictions: Bedene vs. Cuevas, Mannarino vs. Johnson

Aljaz Bedene has picked up 14 of his 17 ATP-level wins this season on clay, while French Open first-round opponent Pablo Cuevas is struggling in advance of Tuesday’s tilt. Adrian Mannarino and Steve Johnson are also on the schedule.

Aljaz Bedene vs. Pablo Cuevas

Gone are the days when Cuevas was thought to be one of the biggest clay-court threats to unseat the best players in the world. Of if they’re not gone, they should be. The 32-year-old Uruguayan has slumped to No. 75 in the world and he could be going further south in the near future because he has a decent number of points to defend from the 2017 French Open (third round). During the Golden Swing in South America earlier this season, Cuevas compiled a modest 4-3 record while failing to reach any finals in three appearances. So far this spring he is 3-4 on clay and coming off an opening loss in Rome to Marco Cecchinato.

Up first for Cuevas on Tuesday is Bedene, whom he has never faced. The 66th-ranked Slovenian is an impressive 17-10 for the year with 14 victories on clay. Clearly his preparation for Roland Garros was much better than that of his opponent, and it included a semifinal showing in Budapest plus a third-round result in Rome. Bedene is 3-2 in his last two French Opens and three of his four career main-draw losses have come against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Dominic Thiem, and Novak Djokovic. It is going to take someone in much better form then Cuevas to defeat a confident Bedene in Paris.

Pick: Bedene in 4

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Steve Johnson vs. (25) Adrian Mannarino

Somewhat surprisingly, the head-to-head history between Mannarino and Johnson is already rather extensive heading into Tuesday’s festivities at Roland Garros. Johnson has won three of their four previous encounters, including three in a row since losing their first-ever showdown 3-6, 6-3, 6-0, 5-7, 6-4 in round one of the 2014 Australian Open. The American prevailed twice in 2016 (4-6, 6-3, 6-4 at Queen’s Club and 6-3, 6-4 in Washington, D.C.) before cruising 6-3, 6-3 earlier this season on the hard courts of Miami.

Mannarino’s recent setback against Johnson is part of a dire 1-7 stretch, the demons of which he is desperately hoping to erase in Paris. The 26th-ranked Frenchman has been a disaster in clay in 2018 and he has always been at his best on grass, but he at least fared decently on the slow stuff last year so he cannot be entirely discounted. Johnson’s clay-court swing has been stellar, with a title in Houston, a win over Stan Wawrinka in Rome, and a recent semifinal performance in Geneva. But the world No. 46 will be making a quick turnaround following his Geneva loss to Marton Fucsovics and if Mannarino can keep this one close, his guile–and the French crowd–could be a factor in an extended battle.

Pick: Mannarino in 5

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