Round one of the French Open will wrap up on Tuesday, when Denis Shapovalov kicks off his campaign against Holger Rune. Another intriguing opener features France’s own Ugo Humbert and rising Finnish star Emil Ruusuvuori.
(14) Denis Shapovalov vs. Holger Rune
Shapovalov and Rune will be going head-to-head for the first time in their careers when they clash in round one of the French Open on Tuesday. It is one of the most intriguing first-round matches, as Shapovalov is a borderline Grand Slam title contender–at least in the future if not now–and Rune is the most promising teenager in the game outside of Carlos Alcaraz.
In a best-of-three situation, this would basically be a 50-50 affair. Rune is ranked 25 spots below Shapovalov at No. 40 in the world, but his 2022 clay-court swing includes his first ATP title in Munich and a semifinal showing in Lyon. Unfortunately for Rune, he is without question the ATP Tour leader in cramping over the past two seasons so best-of-five matches at slams remain a huge question mark. The 19-year-old Dane has never won a main-draw match at a major; Shapovalov has won 29–including trips to the 2021 Wimbledon semifinals and the 2022 Australian Open quarters.
Pick: Shapovalov in 4
Emil Ruusuvuori vs. Ugo Humbert
Humbert has been a complete disaster in 2022, so he can only hope that the crowd support in France is just what the doctor ordered. It helped him a little bit last week in Lyon, where the left-hander beat Gregoire Barrere before pushing Alex de Minaur to three sets. However, Humbert’s record this season is still an alarming 4-11–including 2-5 in main-draw matches on clay.
Up first for Humbert on Tuesday is Ruusuvuori, whom the 46th-ranked Frenchman has never faced. Ruusuvuori has quadrupled his opponent’s 2022 win total with exactly 16. The 61st-ranked Finn won multiple matches in both Barcelona and Munich while also qualifying in Monte-Carlo and reaching the second round of that Masters 1000 event. Home-court advantage may help Humbert make this match competitive, but a big edge in current form goes to Ruusuvuori.
Pick: Ruusuvuori in 5
WWW?