French Open R2 previews and predictions: Tsonga vs. Baghdatis, Sousa vs. Gulbis

Frenchmen have already been involved in plenty of drama this week at Roland Garros, but Jo-Wilfried Tsonga hopes that will not be the case for him against Marcos Baghdatis on Thursday. Joao Sousa and Ernests Gulbis are also in action.

Marcos Baghdatis vs. (8) Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

One of the more lopsided head-to-head matchups on tour will add another chapter when Tsonga and Baghdatis square off for the seventh time in their careers during second-round action at the French Open on Thursday. All six of their previous encounters have gone the way of Tsonga, who most recently beat Baghdatis in round one of this year’s Australian Open via a 6-4, 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 scoreline. Their only prior clay-court contest came the first time they met at the 2011 Rome Masters, where Tsonga cruised 6-3, 6-2.

This surface is not likely to help Baghdatis turn the tide. For the season, the 39th-ranked Cypriot had been just 2-3 on clay heading into Roland Garros. He is also just 10-10 lifetime at this tournament with only two trips past the second round (best: fourth round, 2007). Baghdatis opened on Tuesday by cruising past an opponent who also prefers a slicker court, Gilles Muller. Tsonga, too, rolled in straight sets at the expense of Jan-Lennard Struff. The eighth-seeded Frenchman, a recent semifinalist in Monte-Carlo, has not lost prior to the third round of the French Open since his first appearance back in 2005. There is no reason to think he will come close to making a rare early exit at the hands of Baghdatis.

Pick: Tsonga in 3

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(26) Joao Sousa vs. Ernests Gulbis

Sousa and Gulbis will be going head-to-head for the third time in their careers on Thursday. Gulbis has dominated both of their previous meetings; 6-3, 6-3 at the 2014 Indian Wells Masters and 6-3, 6-4 a few months later on the hard courts of Toronto. Fast forward two years and the mercurial Latvian is mired in one of his coldest spells. Ranked 80th in the world, Gulbis is just 5-10 this season and has not yet won back-to-back matches in the main draw of any tournament. He has already advanced further than expected at Roland Garros, where he took down Andreas Seppi 6-3, 7-5, 6-4 in the opening round.

Although Sousa is also saddled with a losing record for his 2016 campaign, he has at least managed to pick up 14 match wins. The 29th-ranked Portuguese recently advanced to the quarterfinals in Madrid and the semis in Nice and he maintained momentum by escaping Damir Dzumhur 2-6, 7-6(8), 6-4, 7-5 on Tuesday. Even at 100 percent, this would be a tough test for Gulbis–and 100 percent is not where his physical state rests at the moment. The former world No. 10 got past Seppi despite dealing with a knee problem, so this is likely where his fortnight comes to an end.

Pick: Sousa in 3

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