The wide open bottom half of the draw is in second round action with Karen Khachanov taking on Kei Nishikori and American art lover Reilly Opelka battling the Spaniard Jaume Munar.
(23) Karen Khachanov vs. Kei Nishikori
Japan’s Kei Nishikori has proven to be a tricky matchup for Karen Khachanov. The two men have met five times before. Khachanov’s two wins came on grass. Of particular note is that they met a couple of weeks ago in Madrid, where Nishikori just nicked the win in three.
The Japanese veteran put in a four hour, five-set marathon in the first round against Alessandro Giannessi. Five-set matches are an unusually common Grand Slam occurrence for Nishikori, who is 25-7 at slam encounters that go the distance.
Khachanov had a routine straight-set win over Jiri Vesely in the first set, so he’ll be on fresher legs–it just might not make much difference. It’s still early in the tournament, and Nishikori seems to have Khachanov’s number on slower surfaces.
Cheryl pick: Nishikori in 5
Ricky pick: Nishikori in 4
(32) Reilly Opelka vs. Jaume Munar
American Reilly Opelka came in just under the wire and nabbed the last seeded spot in Paris. The No. 32 seed, recently known for his Italian museum tour with Venus Williams, had an unexpectedly impressive run to the semifinals in Rome. At an inch under 7 feet tall, Opelka has one of the most feared serves on tour–but he also displayed some good movement at the Rome Masters for a player of his size.
Opponent Jaume Munar is almost one foot shorter than Opelka and he also has a recent semifinal run, although his came at the 250 event in Parma last week. Munar played a tight four-setter in the first round against Jordan Thompson to earn his spot in the second round.
As is often the case, this match may come down to how well Opelka serves. It has been warm in Paris the past few days, with the ball jumping off the surface. If the American has a good serving day, he might just pull off the win.
Cheryl pick: Opelka in 4
Ricky pick: Munar in 4
Knov in 4; Opelka in 3.
Nishikori v Khachanov was a classic. Kei is playing so well right now on clay. I was wrong to underestimate him and pick Khachanov. And next for Kei is Laaksonen and not RBA. I didn’t see that one.
I ❤ Fognini.
Out goes RBA to someone I’ve barely heard of. RG full of upsets like Med waking up because it’s a slam and Nish seeming injury free for a whole 5 minutes.
And don’t mention the WTA!
Yep, out to Laaksonen! He is a 29 yr old Swiss player. He’s been around for years but not this far, beating the likes of RBA in a GS tournament. It is very surprising!
Oh my gosh, my WTA bracket. But, just like last week, I thought I had a good bracket. I said I would take a break, but I can’t help it. I did that bracket on the fly. The time I spend picking a bracket does not matter, it will be at least half red. I will just keep trying.
Not to brag, but YAY ME! 🙂
Weird results around the grounds today, though.