French Open R1 previews and predictions: Nadal vs. Groth, Berdych vs. Pospisil

Rafael Nadal will begin his bid for a 10th French Open title when he takes the court against Sam Groth on Tuesday. Meanwhile, something will have to give when Tomas Berdych faces Vasek Pospisil–who is 2-0 versus the Czech but has never won an ATP match on clay.

(4) Rafael Nadal vs. Sam Groth

Nadal and Groth will be going head-to-head for the first time in their careers when they clash in round one of the French Open on Tuesday. If Nadal is to capture a 10th career Roland Garros title, it will not be because of a favorable draw–unless some major upsets occur before the fifth-ranked Spaniard runs into his dangerous projected opponents. Unlike last year, however, Nadal is playing like it may not matter who stands in his way. The fourth seed is understandably far from being the favorite, but his clay-court swing includes a title in Monte-Carlo and he recently played Djokovic tough in a 7-5, 7-6(4) Rome quarterfinal setback.

While Nadal’s draw may be difficult, his opener should not be a problem. Groth is a huge-serving Australian who likes to keep rallies as short as possible. Needless to say, the world No. 100 would much prefer to contest this one on either grass or a lightning-fast hard court; heck, he would choose such conditions to face any opponent–not just Nadal. Groth has not played on clay since the 2015 French Open first round and he owns just a single ATP-level victory on this surface in his entire career. Nadal’s fortnight is almost certain to get off to a short and dominant day at the office.

With all this rain @rolandgarros, I'm gonna go throw some seed on Chatrier and hope it grows by Tuesday 🌱😂 #RG16 #RolandGarros

— Sam Groth (@SamGrothTennis) May 22, 2016

Pick: Nadal in 3 losing 8-10 games

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Vasek Pospisil vs. (7) Tomas Berdych

Berdych and Pospisil will be going head-to-head for the third time in their careers when they battle for a place in round two of the French Open on Tuesday. Pospisil has won both of their previous encounters; 7-5, 2-6, 7-6(5) at the 2013 Rogers Cup and 6-2, 6-4 one summer later in Washington, D.C. Clay, however, has always spelled disaster for Pospisil. In fact, the 47th-ranked Canadian has never won a match in the main draw of a clay-court ATP tournament throughout his entire career. His current season on the red stuff includes opening losses to Jan-Lennard Struff (Munich), Radek Stepanek (Madrid), and Andreas Seppi (Rome).

Similarly, there is almost no good news in the Berdych camp–or what’s left of the Berdych camp. The eighth-ranked Czech split from coach Dani Vallverdu after getting double-bageled by David Goffin in the Rome third round. His 2016 campaign had already been mediocre at best, with only two appearances in a semifinal–both coming at 250-point events in the first two months of the year. That being said, tales of Berdych’s demise may be greatly exaggerated because of his 6-0, 6-0 loss to Goffin. He has still managed to win some matches on clay, which is more than Pospisil can say. Moreover, the seventh seed has advanced to the fourth round at Roland Garros five times and he was one set away from reaching the final in 2010.

Pick: Berdych in 4

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