Former champion Stan Wawrinka will kick off his French Open bid against Albert Ramos-Vinolas on Monday, while struggling Canadian Denis Shapovalov will take on young American Brandon Nakashima in the opening round.
Stan Wawrinka vs. Albert Ramos-Vinolas
Stan Wawrinka’s days of winning majors may well be behind him, but the 38-year-old veteran is still capable of producing thrilling tennis–as evidenced by his upset win over Danish star Holger Rune in the third round of Indian Wells earlier in 2023. Wawrinka is eight years removed from his shocking upset win over Novak Djokovic to win his lone French Open title in 2015.
Wawrinka makes his 2023 French Open debut against familiar opponent Albert Ramos-Vinolas. As first opponents go, this one is about as favorable as they come for Wawrinka. The Swiss is a perfect 7-0 against Ramos-Vinolas–and most of their meetings have come on clay, the Spaniard’s preferred surface. It should be noted that the two men haven’t squared off since 2016, but a 7-0 deficit speaks to a matchup issue for the world No. 67.
Ramos-Vinolas has endured a rough spring clay season. He elected to play the Challenger circuit following six consecutive first-round losses and one second-round loss but hasn’t much luck there, either. Wawrinka knows how to put up wins in Paris; expect another one on Monday.
Cheryl pick: Wawrinka in 3
Ricky pick: Wawrinka in 4
(26) Denis Shapovalov vs. Brandon Nakashima
To say that world No. 32 Denis Shapovalov has been struggling would be badly understating the case. He was ranked as high as 10th in the world back in fall of 2020. Just short of three years later, he is a dismal 7-9 on the season. Shapovalov has exactly one match win on clay over world No. 155 Jozef Kovalik in Barcelona. The Canadian hasn’t come within spitting distance of a title yet this year.
Brandon Nakashima’s season hasn’t been spectacular, either, except he righted the ship in a big way last week in Lyon with a solid run to the semifinals. It was by far his best result of the year and surely boosts his confidence headed into this fortnight.
Nakashima won his only other meeting with Shapovalov, a second-round win on the grass courts of Wimbledon in 2022. With Shapovalov’s form in the state it’s in and Nakashima’s recent success in Lyon, the American should have the edge here. It is likely to be more competitive than their Wimbledon match, as Nakashima is far less comfortable on clay than he is on grass. Expect this one to spool out to four or five sets, with Nakashima edging the win.
Cheryl pick: Nakashima in 4
Ricky pick: Nakashima in 5
WWW?
Stan the Man in 3; Naka in 4.
Djokovic will be packing his bags before the quarters
Garfia won’t make the final