By Erik Gudris | Saturday, May 21, 2016
Roland Garros gets underway with several big names that could be involved in opening round upsets on Sunday.
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Each day we'll preview and predict results for several must-see Roland Garros matches. Day One previews are here.
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(5)Kei Nishikori vs. Simone Bolelli
Phillippe-Chatrier Court (second match)
Head-to-head: Nishikori leads 2-0
After nearly defeating Novak Djokovic in Rome, Nishikori enters as one of the few darkhorse threats to possibly stop the World No. 1 from taking home the title. But first Japan’s best player must navigate through his opening round against the Italian veteran Bolelli who has troubled Nishikori before.
A cagey all-court player, Bolelli narrowly lost to Nishikori in their two previous meetings at Wimbledon in 2014 and 2015 - both in five sets. While the Italian has certainly proven he has what it takes to possibly pull off the upset, he enters Paris seeking just his third win of the season. Plus, the clay benefits Nishikori and should allow him to pull away in their extended rallies. If nothing else, this will be a good start for Nishikori to get his game going before the later rounds.
The Pick: Nishikori in three sets
(10) Petra Kvitova vs. Danka Kovinic
Phillippe-Chatrier Court (first match)
Head-to-head: Kvitova leads 1-0
The lefty Czech has endured a volatile 2016 season and an equally up and down clay court swing. Though she reached the Stuttgart semis, two early round losses in Madrid and Rome once again have made Kvitova’s form entering Paris hard to predict.
Kovinic, on the other hand, is enjoying a recent upsurge. Now ranked No. 57 in the world, Kovinic reached the Istanbul final and recently beat Roberta Vinci in Madrid. In their previous meeting a few months ago at Indian Wells, Kvitova barely pulled out the win as she edged past Kovinic 7-6(5) in the third.
Like most Kvitova matches, this one will be on her racquet. If she keeps her errors down and paints the lines with her trademark winners, this should be her day. But with the expectation that this will take three sets, like most Kvitova matches, Kovinic certainly has an opportunity to pull off what would be the first upset of the event.
The Pick: Kvitova in three sets
(22) Viktor Troicki vs. Grigor Dimitrov
Court Two (fourth match)
Head-to-head: Dimitrov leads 2 to 1
Potentially the toss up match of the day. Who could forget Dimitrov’s bizarre meltdown in the Istanbul final a few weeks ago that caused him to forfeit the title? That loss added to his recent woes and caused him to be unseeded as he enters Paris this year.
The Bulgarian now faces Troicki who beat him earlier this year in the Sydney final that went down to a third set tiebreak. While Dimitrov may possess more natural shotmaking ability, it’s unclear how well Dimitrov will play given his recent troubles. For Troicki, clay is not his favorite surface and has only won four of his last 13 matches. The other factor in this fourth meeting between the pair is that this will be their first ever meeting on clay.
The Pick: Dimitrov in four sets
Notable Matches to Keep an Eye On
No. 8 seed Milos Raonic takes on Janko Tipsarevic who is attempting yet another comeback bid. No. 15 seed John Isner faces rising Australian John Millman who is making his Roland Garros debut.
On the women’s side, No. 19 seed and Charleston winner Sloane Stephens may have her hands full against Russia’s Margarita Gasparyan. Former 2009 champion and No. 13 seed Svetlana Kuznetsova gets a first time meeting with Yaroslava Shvedova, a former two-time Roland Garros quarterfinalist.
The complete order of play is here.