French Open R2 previews and picks: Djokovic vs. Chardy, Gulbis vs. Bagnis

Novak Djokovic will continue his French Open campaign on Wednesday against Jeremy Chardy. Ernests Gulbis is also in second-round action, as he goes up against round one marathon man Facundo Bagnis.

Jeremy Chardy vs. (2) Novak Djokovic

Djokovic and Chardy will be going head-to-head for the ninth time in their careers and for the second time this spring when they do battle in round two of the French Open on Wednesday. All eight of their previous encounters have gone Djokovic’s way and the Serb is 19-0 in total sets between the two players. They most recently faced each other on the hard courts of Miami, where Djokovic cruised 6-4, 6-3.

The world No. 2 kicked off his tournament by easing past Joao Sousa 6-1, 6-2, 6-4. Thus continued an awesome spring for Djokovic, who owns Masters 1000 titles in Indian Wells, Miami, and Rome–the latter where he beat Rafael Nadal in the final. Chardy booked his spot in the last 64 with a 7-5, 6-2, 6-2 rout of Daniel Gimeno-Traver. The 42nd-ranked Frenchman is a solid 18-12 this year, a record that includes a Rome upset of Roger Federer. Chardy is a dangerous opponent, but not to the extent that he can seriously trouble Djokovic on clay–or, as their past history indicates, on any surface.

Pick: Djokovic in 3 losing 8-10 games

[polldaddy poll=8078334]

(Q) Facundo Bagnis vs. (18) Ernests Gulbis

Prior to this French Open, Bagnis had won two ATP-level matches in his career had been 0-for-9 in qualifying attempts at Grand Slams. However, the 24-year-old Argentine successfully navigated his way through three qualifying rounds and the rest is already history. Making his major main-draw debut on Monday, Bagnis outlasted France’s own Julien Benneteau 6-1, 6-2, 1-6, 3-6, 18-16. It will be tough to recover, perhaps emotionally more than physically, but the good news is that the marathon fifth set did not push an otherwise quick match past the five-hour mark.

Up next for the world No. 143 is Gulbis, whom he has never faced. Gulbis is playing by far the most consistent tennis of his career and it has him up to No. 17 in the world and ninth in the 2014 race. The Latvian, who just captured a clay-court title last week in Nice, improved to 27-10 for the season with a 4-6, 6-4, 7-5, 6-1 victory over Lukasz Kubot on Monday. Gulbis can get easily frustrated against opponents outside the Top 100 if he is not steamrolling, and he may not cruise entirely against a respectable clay-courter. Still, all signs point to a Gulbis win.

Pick: Gulbis in 4

[polldaddy poll=8078335]