Daniil Medvedev has already improved on his 2023 French Open result and he will face Miomir Kecmanovic in the second round on Thursday. Alexander Bublik and Jan-Lennard Struff are also taking the court.
Miomir Kecmanovic vs. (5) Daniil Medvedev
Medvedev and Kecmanovic will be going head-to-head for the fourth time in their careers when they meet in round two of the French Open on Thursday. All three of their previous encounters have gone Medvedev’s way in emphatic fashion (6-2, 6-4, 6-2 at Roland Garros in 2022, 7-6(0), 6-1 a couple of months later in Los Cabos, and 6-0, 6-3 early last season in Adelaide).
There is no reason to think anything will be different in their fourth matchup. It has been a rough 2024 campaign for Kecmanovic, whose record stands at 13-14 following a four-set win over Thiago Monteiro on Monday. Medvedev is still searching for his first title in 2024, but not including a retirement he compiled a 5-1 record across Madrid and Rome. Although the fifth-ranked Russian lost in the French Open first round last year, he is a former quarterfinalist and he also won the Rome Masters last spring. He should not be underestimated on clay.
Pick: Medvedev in 3
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Jan-Lennard Struff vs. (19) Alexander Bublik
Bublik may be the favorite on paper in this big-serving matchup, but the edge on clay almost certainly goes to Struff. The 34-year-old German was the runner-up in Madrid last season, captured his first ATP title on the dirt of Munich a few weeks ago, and has twice reached the fourth round at Roland-Garros. He opened on Tuesday with a 6-3, 6-2, 6-1 destruction of Roman Andres Burruchaga.
As for Bublik, he despises clay–even if he isn’t entirely hopeless on this surface. The 17th-ranked Kazakh is 25-39 on clay dating back to the start of 2018 and he has never been past the second round of the French Open. Bublik did well to beat Gregoire Barrere in straight sets on Tuesday, but Struff is a whole different beast. The world No. 41 leads their head-to-head series 3-1 (2-1 on the main-tour) and
dominated their only previous clay-court contest 6-1, 6-4 at the 2018 Budapest tournament. All signs point to Struff winning this one without too much trouble.
Pick: Struff in 4
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