French Open R3 previews and predictions: Cilic vs. Johnson, Del Potro vs. Ramos-Vinolas

Big hitters Marin Cilic and Juan Martin Del Potro–who are potential French Open semifinal opponents for Rafael Nadal–will be back in action on Saturday. Cilic is set for third-round action against Steve Johnson, while Del Potro is facing Albert Ramos-Vinolas.

(3) Marin Cilic vs. Steve Johnson

Cilic and Johnson will be going head-to-head for the fifth time in their careers and for the first time on clay when they battle for a spot in week two of the French Open on Saturday. All four of their previous encounters have gone the way of Cilic, who is 2-0 against Johnson on hard courts and 2-0 on grass. They most recently faced each other twice in 2017, with the Croat getting the job done at Wimbledon (6-4, 7-6(3), 6-4) and in Shanghai (7-6(1), 6-4). Cilic is a considerable favorite on paper once again as the world No. 4 and runner-up at two of the last three Grand Slams (Wimbledon and the Australian Open). The 29-year-old is a solid 20-8 this season following Roland Garros victories over James Duckworth and Hubert Hurkacz.

Although Johnson is not an overly experienced or particularly accomplished clay-court player, he is in the midst of an awesome run on the slow stuff. The 46th-ranked American is 11-2 on clay in 2018, with a title in Houston, a second-round showing in Rome (beat Stan Wawrinka, lost to Pablo Carreno Busta in three sets), a semifinal finish in Geneva, and routine French Open wins at the expense of Adrian Mannarino and Jan-Lennard Struff. Johnson is playing well enough to be more competitive than he has ever been against Cilic, but the third seed’s inside-out forehand to exploit Johnson’s backhand weakness will likely prove to be the difference.

Pick: Cilic in 5

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(31) Albert Ramos-Vinolas vs. (5) Juan Martin Del Potro

In a relatively soft top half of the draw and away from Nadal’s quarter, Del Potro–along with Cilic–is one of the favorites to earn a semifinal spot in Paris. So far, so good for the sixth-ranked Argentine. Making a quick recovery from a groin injury sustained in Rome, Del Potro heard the alarm bells sound when he lost his opening set of the fortnight 6-1 to Nicolas Mahut only to eventually clobber Mahut 1-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-4 and beat Julien Benneteau 6-4, 6-3, 6-2. Thus continues a stellar 2018 campaign for the 29-year-old, who is sporting a 25-6 record with titles in Acapulco and Indian Wells.

Up next for Del Potro on Saturday is a second career showdown against Ramos-Vinolas, who lost their only previous meeting 6-2, 7-5, 6-1 at Wimbledon in 2013. The French Open is a far better setting for the 36th-ranked Spaniard, who is 9-2 in his last 11 matches at this event dating back to 2016–a stretch that includes one quarterfinal finish and also a fourth-round performance. Ramos-Vinolas is back in business once again this time around thanks to straight-set routs of Mikhail Kukushkin and Casper Ruud. Surprisingly, though, this is just the second time during eight clay-court tournaments over the past two months that the 30-year-old has won back-to-back matches. A steep step up in competition against an opponent who can push him around with superior firepower will likely prevent Ramos-Vinolas from picking up a third victory.

Pick: Del Potro in 4

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