Roger Federer will continue his French Open campaign on Wednesday against Marcel Granollers. Ernests Gulbis and Nicolas Mahut are also aiming for a place in the third round.
Marcel Granollers vs. (2) Roger Federer
Looking for his second French Open title, Federer began his fortnight in routine fashion on Sunday. The 33-year-old Swiss improved to 26-5 on the season by disposing of lucky loser Alejandro Falla 6-3, 6-3, 6-4. Federer appears poised to capitalized on what is a borderline ideal draw at Roland Garros, as his current form is impressive. The world No. 2 captured a clay-court title earlier this month in Istanbul and he reached the Rome final before succumbing to Novak Djokovic.
Up next for Federer on Tuesday is another veteran in Granollers. The head-to-head series stands at 3-0 in favor of the favorite, who twice prevailed 6-3, 6-4 in Dubai (2011 and 2013) before scoring a 4-6, 6-1, 6-1, 6-1 victory at last summer’s U.S. Open. Granollers opened on Sunday with a 6-4, 6-3, 7-6(7) defeat of qualifier Matthias Bachinger. The 57th-ranked Spaniard is just 10-12 for the year but a decent 6-5 on clay. As their past meetings suggest, this should be utterly straightforward for a confident Federer.
Pick: Federer in 3 losing 8-10 games
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(24) Ernests Gulbis vs. (WC) Nicolas Mahut
Gulbis and Mahut will be squaring off for the third time in their careers (second at the ATP level) on Tuesday. Both of their previous meetings have gone Gulbis’ way; he got the job done 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 at the 2012 Orleans Challenger and 6-3, 7-6(1) last season on the indoor hard courts of Marseille. Fast forward one year, though, and Gulbis has been a disaster. The 2014 French Open semifinalist is still a wretched 3-12 for his 2015 campaign despite easing past qualifier Igor Sijsling 6-4, 6-4, 7-6(3) on Sunday.
Mahut, who is ranked 116th in the world and needed a wild card to get into the main draw, also benefited from playing a qualifier in round one. He took care of young Belgian Kimmer Coppejans by an almost identical 6-3, 6-4, 7-6(4) scoreline. That was Mahut’s first ATP-level match win of the season. This is a terrible matchup for the 33-year-old Frenchman, especially at Roland Garros–where he is an awful 4-12 lifetime. Gulbis loves facing big servers and playing with a target. In other words, net-rushers play right into his hands. On clay, the 24th seed should have no trouble breaking down Mahut’s aggressive style.
Pick: Gulbis in 3
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