French Open R2 previews and predictions: Wawrinka vs. Kokkinakis, Alcaraz vs. Daniel

Stan Wawrinka will be back in action on the heels of a five-setter when he faces Thanasi Kokkinakis in round two at Roland Garros on Wednesday. Carlos Alcaraz is continuing his title quest against Taro Daniel.

Stan Wawrinka vs. (WC) Thanasi Kokkinakis

Wawrinka and Kokkinakis have been on tour with each other for close to a decade, but they will be going head-to-head for the first time in their careers when second-round action at the French Open gets underway on Wednesday. The beginning of the fortnight was almost the end for Wawrinka, who needed four hours and 35 minutes to defeat Albert Ramos-Vinolas 7-6(5), 6-4, 6-7(2), 1-6, 6-4 in the opening round. At 38 years old and having been plagued by injuries in recent seasons, that obviously wasn’t an ideal opening match for Wawrinka.

Kokkinakis, on the other hand, got to play on Sunday instead of Monday and he made quick 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 work of Dan Evans. The 108th-ranked Aussie has not played a ton of matches on clay in 2023, but he at least reached the Rome second round as a qualifier and the result against Evans is encouraging. Kokkinakis is the much younger and more rested of the two players, so he should have a slight edge even on clay–especially if he can turn it into another long, physical affair for Wawrinka.

Pick: Kokkinakis in 5

(1) Carlos Alcaraz vs. Taro Daniel

Title favorites will be on red alert following No. 2 seed Daniil Medvedev’s first-round ouster at the hands of Thiago Seyboth Wild on Tuesday. Alcaraz probably didn’t need a wakeup call, anyway, because the third set of his match against qualifier Flavio Cobolli was too close for comfort. The 20-year-old Spaniard beat Cobolli 6-0, 6-2, 7-5, improving to 31-3 this season–a record that includes four titles (including Indian Wells and Madrid).

Up next for Alcaraz on Wednesday is Daniel, who ran into against Alcaraz in qualifying at the 2021 Oeiras Challenger and lost 6-2, 5-7, 6-2. Daniel comes in at 112th in the rankings and that was good enough for direct entry into the main draw thanks to more than a few withdrawals. The 30-year-old from Japan made the most of his opportunity by destroying Christopher O’Connell 6-0, 6-2, 6-4 in round one, but he has made it to the third round of a slam only once in his career (2022 Australian Open) and with Alcaraz standing in his way the door will likely be shut in swift fashion.

Pick: Alcaraz in 3