French Open R1 previews and picks: Kyrgios vs. Istomin, Thiem vs. Bedene

Up-and-coming stars Nick Kyrgios and Dominic Thiem will kick off their French Open campaigns on Monday. They are set for respective openers against Denis Istomin and Aljaz Bedene.

Denis Istomin vs. (29) Nick Kyrgios

Kyrgios and Istomin will be going head-to-head for the second time in their careers when they collide in round one of the French Open on Monday. Their only previous clash came last season during Davis Group playoff action, with Kyrgios capitalizing on home-court advantage in Australia to prevail on grass 6-4, 7-5, 6-4.

The 20-year-old will be a considerable favorite yet again despite having dealt with back, foot, and elbow problems this season. He retired from a match last week in Nice, but that was in all likelihood a precautionary move. After all, Kyrgios has always been all about the biggest stages of tennis. The world No. 30 is 12-8 this year, while his opponent is just 6-12. Istomin has won back-to-back matches at a tournament only once this entire season. Even if he is slightly less than 100 percent, Kyrgios should not have too much trouble.

Pick: Kyrgios in 4

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Dominic Thiem vs. Aljaz Bedene

Thiem will be in action two days after capturing his first career ATP title in Nice when he takes the court at the French Open. The 21-year-old Austrian has climbed to a career-high ranking of No. 31 in the world thanks to 16 match victories at the ATP level already this season. Just as he was in 2014, Thiem has been outstanding on clay. He advanced two rounds in both Munich and Rome before beating Victor Estrella Burgos, Kyrgios, Ernests Gulbis, John Isner, and Leonardo Mayer to lift the Nice winner’s trophy.

Up next for Thiem is a second meeting with Bedene, who cooled off just a bit after reaching the Chennai final as a qualifier. The Slovenian-turned-Brit has regained some momentum with a quarterfinal performance in Casablanca (also as a qualifier) and a Challenger title earlier this month in Rome. Bedene won their only previous encounter 6-4, 3-6, 6-2 on the hard courts of a Challenger in Irving, Texas, but that was back when Thiem was struggling to get his 2015 campaign off the ground. The world No. 75 has not defeated anyone else ranked better than 59th since Chennai. Bedene could steal a set if his opponent is fatigued, but for the most part this should be straightforward.

Pick: Thiem in 4

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