French Open R1 previews and predictions: Fils vs. Arnaldi, Shelton vs. Gaston

Exciting young Frenchman Arthur Fils will take the court at the French Open on Monday against Italy’s Matteo Arnaldi. Fils’ countryman Hugo Gaston will also be in first-round action against Ben Shelton.

(29) Arthur Fils vs. Matteo Arnaldi

Arthur Fils and Matteo Arnaldi are no strangers to each other. They ran into each other a few months ago at the Miami Masters and before that at last year’s U.S. Open. Arnaldi won both plus another meeting earlier in 2023 in Madrid qualies. This time around Fils has the benefit of playing in front of the home crowd, but whether it is enough to turn the tide on what may be a matchup issue remains to be seen.

Fils has had some good results on clay this spring, including a win at the Bordeaux Challenger last week–but he has also endured a couple of miserable early losses in the leadup eventsm including a second-round loss to world No. 109 Alexandre Muller in Rome. Arnaldi is ranked No. 35, just outside seeding, but it’s a career high for him. Expect this one to be a real battle, with the Italian just coming out on top.

Cheryl pick: Arnaldi in 5

Ricky pick: Arnaldi in 5

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(15) Ben Shelton vs. Hugo Gaston

It’s a showdown between two lefties on Monday, with Ben Shelton taking on Hugo Gaston on the second day of play at Roland Garros. Shelton is the much higher-ranked of the two players at No 15 to Gaston’s 88th, but the American hasn’t fared particularly well on European clay so far. Two match wins in three tournaments hardly inspires confidence in Shelton’s clay-court prowess. It should be noted that the American won a clay-court event in Houson early this spring, but Houston clay isn’t really the same surface as European clay.

Gaston comes into Paris off a good run in Lyon last week. The Frenchman came up through qualifying to make the quarterfinals. The run included an impressive win over Francisco Cerundolo. Prior to that, however, Gaston had a series of first-round losses. Monday’s match against Shelton marks the first meeting between the two men.

Given Gaston’s form this season, this matchup provides a decent chance for Shelton to make his way to the second round. The best-of-five format at the majors often gives Shelton time to serve his way out of difficulty (although that is clearly less effective on clay than the other surfaces). This could well be a five-set tussle.

Cheryl pick: Gaston in 5

Ricky pick: Shelton in 5

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