Paris R2 previews and predictions: Wawrinka vs. Paul, Schwartzman vs. Gasquet

Diego Schwartzman will take on French veteran Richard Gasquet in Paris second-round action on Wednesday as the Argentine tries to lock up a spot in London. Stan Wawrinka battles American Tommy Paul.

(6) Diego Schwartzman vs. Richard Gasquet

Schwartzman has absolutely been on fire since the U.S. Open. The No. 6 seed secured a rare clay-court victory over Rafael Nadal in Rome and made his way all the way to the final, where he lost to Novak Djokovic. One tournament later and he battled his way to the semifinals of the French Open.

Gasquet has had a slightly bumpy relationship with the French crowd over the course of his career. In fact, he bowed out of the French Open in the first round a few weeks ago. But he had a nice win over American Taylor Fritz in the first-round this week.

Gasquet boasts a surprising 3-0 record over Schwartzman. The two men last met in 2019 at the Cincinnati Masters, where the Frenchman won in straight sets. Given Schwartzman’s current form, a straight-set win for Gasquet is probably unlikely, but the world No. 56 could make the Argentine work for his win.

Cheryl pick: Schwartzman in 3

Ricky pick: Schwartzman in 2

(12) Stan Wawrinka vs. Tommy Paul

Wawrinka hasn’t had a great fall since tennis’s return from the COVID layoff. The Swiss veteran bowed out of the French Open to world No. 239 Hugo Gaston in the third round. He also absorbed a first-round loss to Cristian Garin last week in Vienna. Wawrinka at least had a good straight-set win over Dan Evans in the first round on Monday.

American youngster Tommy Paul is playing some of the best tennis of his career. He enjoys a career-high ranking of No. 55 partially on the strength of quarterfinal showings in Acapulco and last week in Nur-Sultan. Paul earned a win over French veteran Gilles Simon in the Paris first round.

Given that Wawrinka is rather badly out of form, Paul might have a better shot at the upset than he would ordinarily. The veteran hasn’t won more than two matches at any tournament this fall. It’s still hard to pick against Wawrinka, but Paul could snag a set.

Cheryl pick: Wawrinka in 3

Ricky pick: Wawrinka in 2