Ricky Dimon of The Grandstand and Joey Hanf of The Tennis Nerds preview and pick the four best men’s singles matches on Thursday at the French Open. Bernard Tomic, Thanasi Kokkinakis, Tommy Robredo, and Borna Coric are among those in action.
Thanasi Kokkinakis vs. (27) Bernard Tomic
Ricky: It might as well be Australia Day at the French Open (at least on Court 7) because Kokkinakis is going up against Tomic whenever Nick Kyrgios gets done with Kyle Edmund. These two Aussies have already faced each other twice this season and Tomic is 2-0. But both of those came on a hard court and one went to 6-4 in the third. Tomic is at his well-documented worst on clay, whereas Kokkinakis is coming off a Challenger title on the red dirt of Bordeaux. Kokkinakis has established himself as a mental giant in long, competitive matches–which is what this one will likely become. Kokkinakis 7-6(2), 2-6, 3-6, 7-5, 8-6.
Joey: Quite simply, Bernard Tomic is not a good clay-court tennis player. Kokkinakis is not exactly a specialist himself, but his game translates well to the clay. His heavy forehand has a lot of margin, something Tomic does not possess in his game. Kokkinakis took out a very underrated player in Nikoloz Basilashvili in the first round, and he’s shown the ability to play with tour level players consistently this year. On clay, Tomic is nothing more than an average tour-level player, and Kokkikanis will take advantage of that. Kokkinakis 6-4, 7-5, 6-2.
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Borna Coric vs. (18) Tommy Robredo
Ricky: This is a tough one to call. Robredo is the obvious favorite on paper, at least on clay. But he is just 9-8 this season and played only two clay-court warmup events because of a foot injury. Fifteen years the Spaniard’s younger at 18, Coric is firmly on the rise and has plenty of momentum after disposing of Sam Querrey in round one. Robredo did well to win his opener against Andrey Golubev, but he will need to do more than beat Golubev to prove he is 100 percent. He’ll have to be 100 percent to survive Coric, who is one of the fastest players on tour and will force the veteran to play a ton of long points. Coric 4-6, 6-3, 7-6(3), 6-2.
Joey: Well, Coric proved me completely wrong in the first round, but I think that had more to do with Querrey’s lackluster play than anything else. Robredo got off to a slow start before rebounding quickly against Golubev in his first-round match. At 33, Robredo is certainly still a force on clay even though he’s had a mediocre year so far. The Spaniard will be too solid in best of five and he will win the crucial forehand-to-forehand battle. Coric can push him, but Robredo has shown that he is pretty good against rising 18-year-olds in Grand Slams (see: Kyrgios, U.S. Open ’14). Robredo 6-4, 6-7(4), 6-3, 7-5.
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Jeremy Chardy vs. (18) John Isner
Ricky: Chardy is 2-0 lifetime against Isner, but one win came via retirement and the other came on an indoor hard court in Spain. Although the Frenchman is no slouch on clay, the red stuff will favor Isner in a big way. Isner was broken only by Rafael Nadal, Steve Johnson, and Dominic Thiem throughout the European clay-court swing prior to Roland Garros. Chardy’s return of serve is hardly impressive and he has been borderline atrocious this spring in Europe. This should be a straightforward scoreline–at least straightforward by Isner standards. Isner 7-6(5), 7-6(4), 6-3.
Joey: When I first saw the draw, I felt like this was a real trap match for Isner. However, after watching the first round, I think the American has a clear edge here. Big John has been playing some of the best tennis of his career in the last few months, and he’s certainly had his best clay-court season. The surface at Roland Garros helps Isner because it gives a truer bounce and allows him to take the ball early. Chardy’s serve will get him to a couple tiebreaks, but I don’t see him breaking Isner’s serve. Court 1 does not have as much room behind the baseline as the two show courts, and that will help Isner. His return game has improved slightly this year and I think he’ll break at least once. Isner 7-6(5), 6-4, 6-7(6), 7-6(3).
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(17) David Goffin vs. Santiago Giraldo
Ricky: The ball-striking in this one is going to be awesome. Clay really doesn’t favor either player, even though common perception is that it would help Giraldo. Goffin announced himself on tour by reaching the fourth round at RG in 2012 before pushing Roger Federer to four sets. Fast forward three years and the Belgian is into he top 20 of the world rankings. He is not as on fire as he was last summer, but Goffin has a little bit more margin on his shots than Giraldo and that will be the difference in the hard-hitting rallies that are sure to ensue. Goffin 6-3, 3-6, 7-5, 6-4.
Joey: This could be a truly great match…if Giraldo shows up to play. He’s been up and down this year, and his ranking has suffered. Goffin is starting to find a nice home in the top 20 and he has taken Kei Nishikori and David Ferrer to three sets in his last two clay-court tournaments. The shot-making should be excellent, but I don’t see Giraldo sustaining a high enough level of play over more than two sets. Expect long rallies and second-serve return winners galore. Goffin 6-3, 4-6, 6-2, 6-4.
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Ricky,
I heard the result on tv, but didn’t see the exact scoreline. How close were you?
exact for the 5th set
Coric having to face Rafa can be bad for Rafa. I was hoping Robredo pulls through.
Sanju,
You are thinking ahead! First Rafa has to get past this other guy. Both Coric and Sock are hot right now. That should be a good match. But I am going one match at a time!
Yes but never heard of Rafas 3rd round opponent. Who is he?
I mentioned Coric as Coric beat him I think last year
My comment was more as Rafa knows Robredos game. Coric beat Rafa and I think even Andy Murray recently this year.
Sanju,
There is no question that Coric is hot and playing extremely well right now. But I am just trying to deal with the next match. I know it’s normal to look ahead and see what awaits Rafa. We have to see what happens with Sock and Coric.
Do you have a preference then for who might face Rafa? That match will be a good one, because both those guys are on their game.
Sanju,
Keep one thing in mind. Whoever it is, they have to beat Rafa here in a best three out of five set match. Only one man has been able to do it! 🙂
World number one Novak Djokovic gave teenage French Open trailblazer Boran Coric a ringing endorsement Thursday by declaring: “He reminds me of me”.
Coric, 18, became the youngest player to reach the third round in Paris since Marat Safin in 1998 when he defeated veteran Spaniard Tommy Robredo, a four-time quarter-finalist, 7-5, 3-6, 6-2, 4-6, 6-4.
“I like Coric and how he approaches matches. He has a very mature mindset for somebody that is only 18,” said Djokovic, 10 years Coric’s senior.
“I practiced with him quite a lot in the last couple of months, and he does remind me of myself a little bit at that age.”
humblebrag
incidentally rafa was 18 (in 2005) when he first competed at rg. ok so he was days from 19 at the start of the tournament but he did win the entire thing
That era was exceptional, no? Rafa led the field by miles but Djokovic and Murray were also in the top four at an early age: the former at the age of 20, the latter at 21 and have been known as the Big Four ever since. I am not an historian but this must be unique in the Open Era.