French Open Day 2 picks, including Cilic vs. Andujar and Haase vs. Davydenko

The Grandstand’s Ricky Dimon and Joey Hanf of The Tennis Nerds preview and pick four of the best men’s singles matches on Monday at Roland Garros. Among those in action are Marin Cilic and Nikolay Davydenko.

(25) Marin Cilic vs. Pablo Andujar

Ricky: Andujar is a dreadful 6-10 at the ATP level this season and he has plunged to No. 78 in the world. In fact, the Spaniard has won only a single match since his epic 2-6, 6-3, 7-6(10) loss to Rafael Nadal in the Rio de Janeiro semifinals back in February. The good news for Andujar is that Cilic has cooled off just a bit since a torrid start to the season and the Croat is far from his best on clay. He bowed out in routine fashion from all three of his clay-court warmup tournaments. Andujar 6-4, 6-7(3), 2-6, 7-5, 6-3.

Joey: Cilic did a lot of good work the first few months of the season to get seeded for Roland Garros, but he wasn’t blessed with the easiest of opening matches. Andujar has dipped in the rankings but still possesses the ball-striking ability to play with almost anybody, especially on clay. Aside from having match point against Nadal, Andujar also pushed Andy Murray the distance in Acapulco. However, Cilic’s serve will be the difference in a long, rainy match. Cilic 6-4, 6-7(3), 6-3, 7-5.

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Ricky: Unforced errors and choking at critical moments should be the story of this matchup. On the bright side, it will provide some decent shot-making at times and it should be competitive. Haase leads the head-to-head series 2-1, including 1-0 on clay (7-5, 4-6, 6-4 at the 2011 Monte-Carlo event). The Dutchman is not a specialist on any surface, but both of his ATP titles have come on clay and three of his four finals have come on the slow stuff. Haase 6-1, 5-7, 6-3, 2-6, 6-2.

Joey: These two have both had less that stellar years–especially Davydenko, who in on the verge of falling out of the Top 100. Haase had one solid result on the clay, reaching the semifinals of Bucharest before falling to Lukas Rosol. Davydenko, on the other hand, has had only one win during the clay season and that came last week against Dudi Sela. It wasn’t all that long ago when the Russian was playing Roger Federer in the semifinals of the French Open. Or maybe it was a long time ago. Haase 3-6, 6-2, 7-5, 6-1.

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Ricky: These two Czechs have never squared off at the ATP level, but they have met once on the Challenger circuit; and it did not disappoint. Vesely prevailed 5-7, 6-4, 7-6(4) last year on the clay courts of Prostejov. With both men in relatively solid form, another competitive affair can be expected. Vesely is coming off a semifinal in Dusseldorf, where he double-breadsticked Jurgen Melzer before falling to Ivo Karlovic in two tiebreakers. Rosol’s game is so wildly hit or miss that Vesely should be better able to sustain a higher level over five sets. Vesely 6-3, 2-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-3.

Joey: Vesely reached his first career tour level semifinal last week in Dusseldorf, which included the impressive double-breadstick beatdown of Melzer in the quarters. The young Czech has done the vast majority of his work at the Challenger level and is still searching for his first Grand Slam win. Meanwhile, the unpredictable Rosol has had an up-and-down year and is dangerous on every surface. I have a feeling that there might be some tough mental battles in this all-Czech first-round match. It should be one of the best matches for those wandering the outside courts. Rosol 7-6(7), 2-6, 6-4, 5-7, 10-8.

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