Tommy Paul played well at Wimbledon and now heads back to clay along with the rest of the Olympians, including first-round opponent Luciano Darderi. Recent foes Stan Wawrinka and Pavel Kotov are also in action on Saturday.
Luciano Darderi vs. (9) Tommy Paul
Paul has been in awesome form throughout the 2024 campaign, highlighted by titles in Dallas and at Queen’s Club, a pair of Masters 1000 semifinal showings (Indian Wells and Rome), and a recent Wimbledon quarterfinal run. The American’s season record stands at 31-11 and he is up to No. 13 in the rankings.
Up first for Paul at the Paris Olympics on Saturday is a first-ever showdown against Darderi. The 22-year-old Italian has broken through on tour this season, with 21 of his 22 ATP-level victories coming in 2024. He has won 36 matches across all levels this year and 34 have come on clay. However, Darderi is just 5-6 in his last 11 tour-level efforts and–needless to say–this is a rough opening draw for him in Paris.
Pick: Paul in 2
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Stan Wawrinka vs. Pavel Kotov
Kotov and Wawrinka will be going head-to-head for the second time in their careers and for the second time at Roland Garros in 2024. They just faced each other in round two of the French Open, where Kotov got the job done 7-6(5), 6-4, 1-6, 7-6(5). The 62nd-ranked Russian racked up plenty of wins on clay this spring, but the majority his tournaments ended with thoroughly unspectacular losses. Kotov also struggled after leaving Paris, blowing a two-set lead against Jordan Thompson in round one at Wimbledon before falling to Duje Ajdukovic in the Bastad second round.
Things aren’t exactly sparkling for Wawrinka, either. At 39 years old, the former doubles gold medalist (2008 in Beijing with Roger Federer) is obviously participating in his final Olympics as his career winds down. Wawrinka is just 4-10 for the season, but his losses have mostly been competitive and he is always dangerous on clay. The world No. 109 wore down just a little bit in his previous match against Kotov, but a best-of-three situation should be more advantageous for the veteran.
Pick: Wawrinka in 3
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WWW?
TP in 2; Stanimal in 3.