French Open R3 previews and predictions: Paul vs. Khachanov, Shelton vs. Gigante

Americans Tommy Paul and Ben Shelton took much different paths through the second round in Paris and will now bid for spots in the second week. Paul faces Karen Khachanov, while Shelton goes up against Matteo Gigante.

(24) Karen Khachanov vs. (12) Tommy Paul

Paul looked like he was on the fast track out of the French Open in round two, as Marton Fucsovics led two sets to love and also served for the match at 5-3 in the fourth. As if that wasn’t enough, Paul also had to deal with an apparent groin injury. Nonetheless, the 12th-ranked American battled all the way back to prevail 4-6, 2-6, 6-3, 7-5, 6-4 after three hours and 38 minutes. That was preceded by a four-set victory over Elmer Moller, who took the opener in a tiebreaker before getting steamrolled in the next three.

Up next for Paul on Friday is a third meeting with Khachanov, who has lost both of their previous encounters. Paul won in a third-set ‘breaker at the 2022 Miami Masters and 6-3, 3-6, 6-2 at the Madrid Masters earlier this spring. However, Khachanov is in stellar form and frequently over-performs at Grand Slams relative to other events. The 24th-ranked Russian also needed five sets on Wednesday (d. Sebastian Ofner), but he at least enjoyed a routine first-round match (d. Aleksandar Vukic 6-4, 6-4, 6-4). Primarily because Paul is a physical question mark, Khachanov may have the edge–especially if it turns into another long, grueling contest.

Pick: Khachanov in 5

(13) Ben Shelton vs. (Q) Matteo Gigante

It will be an all-lefty showdown when Shelton and Gigante go head-to-head for the first time in on Friday. This is already the best tournament of Gigante’s career. The 23-year-old Italian qualified for the main draw and has since taken out Benjamin Hassan (6-4, 6-2, 6-0) and former French Open runner-up Stefanos Tsitsipas (6-4, 5-7, 6-2, 6-4). Although this result is extremely unexpected for the world No. 167, it didn’t entirely come out of nowhere–he won last month’s Rome Challenger and reached the Rome Masters second round before falling to Jakub Mensik 7-6(4), 7-5.

Shelton has not played since the opening night of the tournament. The 13th-ranked American survived a five-set battle against Lorenzo Sonego and dealt with an ankle issue, so a second-round walkover from Hugo Gaston was a much-appreciated development. Although Tsitsipas surprisingly won’t be on the other side of the net, this is not an easy matchup for Shelton. Gigante is very good on clay and Shelton has never fared particularly well against fellow left-handers. A slight upset would hardly be surprising.

Pick: Gigante in 5