French Open R2 previews and predictions: Nishikori vs. Paire, Dimitrov vs. Donaldson

Kei Nishikori and Grigor Dimitrov will continue their French Open campaigns in a loaded bottom half of the draw on Wednesday. They have potentially tough second-round matchups on their hands with Benoit Paire and Jared Donaldson, respectively.

(19) Kei Nishikori vs. Benoit Paire

Nishikori and Paire are already familiar foes–including at Grand Slams and in Paris–as they prepare for a second-round showdown at the French Open on Wednesday. The head-to-head series stands at 3-2 in favor of Nishikori, who got things started by beating Paire 7-6(2), 6-2 at the 2012 Paris Masters and 6-3, 6-7(3), 6-4, 6-1 one season later at Roland Garros. Paire evened the scored with a pair of 2015 victories (needing final sets at both the U.S. Open and Japan Open) before Nishikori once again pulled ahead thanks to a 6-3, 6-2 rout in the 2016 Barcelona semifinals.

Paire has been unspectacular on clay in 2018 (4-5 record), so he has already done well to earn a spot in the second round. The 51st-ranked Frenchman did it by defeating tough clay-courter Roberto Carballes Baena 6-3, 6-7(3), 7-6(9), 6-1. Ranked lower than usual, Nishikori got a couple of bad draws earlier in the clay-court swing but benefited from a seed at Roland Garros by cruising past world No. 307 Maxime Janvier 7-6(0), 6-4, 6-3. Japan’s top player finished runner-up to Rafael Nadal earlier this spring in Monte-Carlo and is coming off a quarterfinal performance in Rome. Nishikori will likely have too much firepower and more importantly be too mentally tough in this one, and if Paire gets off to a slow start he could go downhill fast.

Pick: Nishikori in 3

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Jared Donaldson vs. (4) Grigor Dimitrov

Dimitrov is still seeking his first Grand Slam final appearance and he has a chance to accomplish that feat this fortnight with Nadal on the other side of the draw, but he may not be feeling too much pressure. Attention has focused on a red-hot Alexander Zverev, on a stacked section of the bracket that includes Zverev, Nishikori, and Dominic Thiem, and–of course–on Nadal’s expected dominance of the entire field. Although Dimitrov is the reigning Nitto ATP Finals champion, he is flying a bit under the radar now due to recent struggles. The fifth-ranked Bulgarian was 0-3 in his last three matches dating back to the Barcelona quarterfinals before defeating lucky loser Mohamed Safwat 6-1, 6-4, 7-6(1) in round one at Roland Garros.

Up next for Dimitrov is a first-ever contest against Donaldson, who took a more circuitous route to the last 64–picking up an impressive clay-court win over Nicolas Jarry (6-3, 4-6, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4). The 21-year-old American is nowhere near his best on clay, but he also isn’t entirely hopeless on this surface. Donaldson pushed Roberto Bautista Agut to three sets in Madrid and did the same with Pablo Carreno Busta in Rome before advancing one round in Geneva (beat Denis Istomin, lost to Stan Wawrinka). Another competitive loss is likely coming against an opponent who is simply in a different class at the moment.

Pick: Dimitrov in 4

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