French Open R1 previews and predictions: Thiem vs. Tomic, Pouille vs. Benneteau

The French Open gets underway on Sunday, and Dominic Thiem is the highest-ranked man in action during the first day of the first-round schedule. Thiem is facing Bernard Tomic, while an all-French affair features Lucas Pouille and Julien Benneteau.

(6) Dominic Thiem vs. Bernard Tomic

Thiem and Tomic will be going head-to-head for just the second time in their careers when they clash in round one of the French Open on Sunday. Their only previous encounter came early in 2016 on the hard courts of Acapulco, where Thiem won the final 7-6(6), 4-6, 6-3. They have gone in much different directions since, with Thiem making his World Tour Finals debut last season and firmly on course to make a repeat appearance in London. The seventh-ranked Austrian’s clay-court swing includes runner-up performances in Barcelona and Madrid to go along with a semifinal showing in Rome.

Tomic, on the other hand, is a horrendous 5-10 this year and a somewhat respectable 3-3 on clay–which is by far his least favorite surface. The 39th-ranked Australian went a dreadful 1-5 on the red stuff in 2016, advancing one round at Roland Garros before succumbing to Borna Coric in a fourth-set tiebreaker. Current form and the surface are massively in Thiem’s favor right now, so this matchup that looks good on paper should not materialize into much on the court.

Pick: Thiem in 3

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(16) Lucas Pouille vs. (WC) Julien Benneteau

For the second straight year at Roland Garros, Pouille and Benneteau are facing each other in the first round. Pouille survived that contest 6-3, 4-6, 6-4, 7-6(4) and also beat Benneteau 7-6(2), 4-6, 6-3 last fall on the indoor hard courts of Metz. The overall head-to-head series stands at 2-1 in favor of the 23-year-old, who fell to Benneteau in straight sets at the 2013 Marseille event.

Pouille’s proverbial “sophomore” season on tour following his breakout 2016 campaign has been up and down. He owns a title from Budapest and also finished runner-up in Marseille, but his clay-court swing has taken a recent turn for the worse. Following a Monte-Carlo semifinal appearance and the Budapest triumph, the 17th-ranked Frenchman lost his opening matches in Madrid and Rome. Twelve years his countryman’s senior at 35, Benneteau is just 1-4 at the ATP level in 2017 and he retired from his most recent outing (Bordeaux quarterfinals) less than two weeks ago. The veteran should raise his game for what could be his last French Open appearance, but he is not at the same level of Pouille these days.

Pick: Pouille in 4

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