French Open Day 5 Preview: Four Must-See Matches - UBITENNIS

French Open Day 5 Preview: Four Must-See Matches

By Matthew Marolf
5 Min Read
Stan Wawrinka (zimbio.com)

Today at the French Open will see grand slam champions Stan Wawrinka and Juan Martin del Potro resume their campaigns. Wawrinka is currently of a five-match winning streak and triumphing at the Geneva Open last week. On the other hand, Del Potro’s preparation for Roland Garros has been blighted by back and shoulder problems. Meanwhile, in the women’s draw, title contender Elina Svitolina faces Tsvetana Pironkova, who reached the quarterfinals last year. Here are the four matches to follow on day five.

Stan Wawrinka vs. Alexandr Dolgopolov

Wawrinka’s season is following a familiar pattern: after underperforming for most of 2017, Stan successfully defended his Geneva title last week in his home country. He appears to be finding his form just in time for Roland Garros, where he won the title in 2015 and made the semis last year. Dolgopolov has struggled in recent years, now barely ranked inside the Top 100. But much like Stan, Dolgopolov is a dangerous opponent capable of hitting opponents off the court. And he can play on the clay, having won the title in Buenos Aires earlier this year by defeating Kei Nishikori in the final. Dologopolov is actually 2-1 against Wawrinka, but they have never met on clay and haven’t played since 2014. Expect a lot of winners and errors from both men in what should be an interesting second round contest.

Elina Svitolina vs. Tsvetlana Pironkova

Court 2 may be the place to be on Thursday as that’s where the next three of our must-see matches will take place, with this one first on at 11:00am local time. Svitolina is one of the favorites to win this tournament, but this could prove to be a tough second round draw. Pironkova’s game of slices and spins can frustrate opponents and has brought her much success. She made the quarterfinals of last year’s Roland Garros, and previously made the quarters and semis at Wimbledon, twice defeating Venus Williams on her strongest surface. This will be the first meeting between these two players, and should be a fun matchup to watch.

Juan Martin Del Potro vs. Nicolas Almagro

Del Potro’s first round win was his first win at Roland Garros in five years, of course having missed many years due to wrist injuries. Del Potro has recently been dealing with back and shoulder issues, and many expected him to miss the French Open again this year. Almagro is a former world #9 who is at his best on clay, with three prior appearances in the French Open quarterfinals. But Almagro has also been hurt, having retired against Nadal in Rome two weeks ago with a left knee injury. Del Potro is 3-0 against Almagro, but all meetings have been on hard courts. If both players remain healthy, this should be a good match with a lot of good shot-making that favors Del Potro.

Anastasija Sevastova vs. Eugenie Bouchard

While Bouchard is certainly the more well-known of the two, she has struggled in recent years. Sevastova has quietly risen into the Top 20 rankings, making the quarterfinals of last year’s U.S. Open and more recently the semifinals in Madrid. Bouchard had to pull out of the Nuremberg Cup last week with a right ankle injury, and like many others was questionable to play at the French Open. They split their two previous meetings last year, and have not yet faced each other on clay. Sevastova will be the favorite to advance in this one.

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