Rafael Nadal will begin his bid for a ninth French Open title when he takes the court against Robby Ginepri on Monday. The winner will face either Dominic Thiem or Paul-Henri Mathieu in the second round.
(1) Rafael Nadal vs. (WC) Robby Ginepri
Nadal and Ginepri will be going head-to-head for the first time in nine years when they meet in round one of the French Open on Monday. Their only previous encounter came at the 2005 Madrid event, played on indoor hard courts back then, with Nadal winning a semifinal showdown 7-5, 7-6(1). In his prime at that point, Ginepri is still toiling away at 31 years old. From just about out of nowhere, even considering retirement, he earned the USTA’s wild card into Roland Garros by taking the Tallahassee Challenger title. Ginepri is 0-2 at the ATP level this season and registers at 279th in the world.
Meanwhile, Nadal comes in exactly 278 spots ahead of his American opponent and he is looking for a ninth French Open title. The top-seeded Spaniard has won it on four consecutive occasions but is not an overwhelming favorite this time around due to three clay-court setbacks in a year for the first time since 2004. Losses have come to David Ferrer (Monte-Carlo), Nicolas Almagro (Barcelona), and Novak Djokovic (Rome). Nadal did, however, manage to capture the Madrid title. Look for Ginepri to be somewhat competitive in the first set before Nadal blows him off the red clay.
Pick: Nadal in 3 losing 8-10 games
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(WC) Paul-Henri Mathieu vs. Dominic Thiem
Two players at very different ends of the career spectrum will square off on Monday when Mathieu and Thiem face each other for the first time. At 32 years old, Mathieu is still inside the Top 100 (90th) and has a decent six ATP-level match wins to his credit this season. The Frenchman was a quarterfinalist in Bucharest last month and is coming off a second-round Nice loss to eventual runner-up Federico Delbonis.
Thiem has been the breakout star of 2014. The 20-year-old Austrian has been successful in seven of eight qualifying attempts and main-draw highlights include third-round showings in Indian Wells, Barcelona, and Madrid. Mathieu made a memorable run to the French Open third round in 2012 (beat John Isner 18-16 in the fifth along the way), so the crowd knows how to get behind him. The discrepancy in talent, however, will be too great.
Pick: Thiem in 4
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