Holger Rune comes into Roland Garros as one of the in-form clay-court players on tour and he will kick off his French Open bid against American Chris Eubanks. Francisco Cerundolo will also be in first-round action against Jaume Munar.
(6) Holger Rune vs. Chris Eubanks
Holger Rune has positioned himself as one of the players to watch at this year’s French Open. The world No. 6 has become a fixture in the business end of most tournaments he has entered this spring. He came up just short in Monte-Carlo, where he lost in the final to Andrey Rublev and again in Rome–where Daniil Medvedev took the title match. Rune captured his only 2023 crown in a comeback win in Munich over Botic van de Zandschulp.
Rune routinely grabs headlines, in part because of his on-court antics but also due to his meteoric rise up the rankings. The Dane has a versatile game, and while he has occasionally struggled with fatigue, he also moves well. His game translates to both fast and slower surfaces, which makes him a threat on both hard courts and clay. It remains to be seen if he can make the transition to grass.
American Chris Eubanks is ranked a career-high 74th in the world. The 27-year-old just broke into the top 100 earlier this year and then had his big tournament breakthrough in Miami, where he made the quarterfinals. He played just one clay event headed into Roland Garros, recording a single match win in Geneva before losing in the second round to Alexander Zverev.
Given Rune’s form and Eubanks’ lack of clay-court preparation, expect this one to go to the Dane.
Cheryl pick: Rune in 3
Ricky pick: Rune in 3
(23) Francisco Cerundolo vs. Jaume Munar
Francisco Cerundolo is in the best form of his career. The world No. 23 made a run to the quarterfinals in Miami, and ever since he has been on fire. He comes into Paris off a run to the final in Lyon just a couple days ago. Clay has traditionally been his most successful surface, although he always seems to come on strong at the Miami Masters.
Jaume Munar will hope that he fares better against Cerundolo than he did a few months ago when they met in Buenos Aires. The Argentine dismantled Munar 6-2, 6-1 in February in front of the home crowd. Unfortunately for the world No. 81 from Spain, Cerundolo is in even better form now.
Certainly fatigue may end up factoring into the Argentine’s results in Paris, but he should have enough in the tank at this early stage.
Cheryl pick: Cerundolo in 3
Ricky pick: Cerundolo in 4
Rune in 3; Dolo in 3.
Its rarely that straightforward when you think it will be. Its not like Rune and Cerundolo have a fine tuned formula like the big 3.
who ya got?