World No. 1 Novak Djokovic kicks off his quest for a second French Open crown against Mikael Ymer on Tuesday. Denis Shapovalov begins his campaign against French veteran Gilles Simon.
(1) Novak Djokovic vs. Mikael Ymer
World No. 1 Novak Djokovic isn’t technically undefeated in 2020 due to his controversial default at the U.S. Open a few weeks ago. But that’s just what his single “loss” is: a technicality. He has won every other tournament he’s entered, including the Australian Open. Suffice it to say that Djokovic is not the opponent you want to see in the first round.
Mikael Ymer is ranked 80th in the world. The young Swede is still forced to qualify for many events, but he has made a few inroads in 2020–including securing a match win at the Australian Open to start the season.
While Djokovic doesn’t have the clay-court pedigree of rival Rafael Nadal, the top seed is an excellent dirt-baller. He recently added the Rome Masters to his expanding 2020 trophy case. Expect the Serb to breeze through his opener with efficiency.
Cheryl pick: Djokovic in 3
Ricky pick: Djokovic in 3 losing 5-7 games
(9) Denis Shapovalov vs. Gilles Simon
Denis Shapovalov isn’t generally known for his clay-court prowess. In 2019, the Canadian failed to win more than a match at a time during the entire European clay-court swing. But that was then. Less than a week ago, Shapovalov fought his way into the semifinals in Rome and he comes into Paris on a wave of success that could well carry the No. 9 seed into the second week.
His first-round opponent is the veteran Gilles Simon. The Frenchman, once ranked as high as No. 6 in the world, has seen his ranking slip down to No. 54; and his form suggests a far worse ranking than that could be in the cards sooner rather than later. His most recent tournament results showcase a first-round loss at a Challenger event. He failed to qualify in Rome, and while he did qualify in Hamburg last week he promptly lost in the first round to Jiri Vesely.
Despite the fact that Simon will be playing in front of the home “crowd,” anything other than a straight-set win for Shapovalov would be a shock.
Cheryl pick: Shapovalov in 3
Ricky pick: Shapovalov in 3
Shapo in 4…Gilles won’t lay down in Paris!
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