The 2017 French Open has already begun with the opening day witnessing a huge upset in Angelique Kerber becoming the first Top seed to be eliminated in the first round of the French Open. The remaining first round matches will be played today where the likes of Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, and Andy Murray will open their campaign.The French Open draw has not been easy for a few players but it sure provides some very interesting matchups in further rounds which we would love to watch. Here are five such matchups.
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#5. Stan Wawrinka vs Fabio Fognini
Both three-time Slam winner Wawrinka and Italy’s Fabio Fognini consider clay their favourite surface, and both have achieved their best Grand Slam results at the French Open. While Wawrinka won here in 2015, Fognini reached the quarter-finals here in 2011, thus becoming the first Italian man to reach a Grand Slam quarter-final since Davide Sanguinetti at the 1998 Wimbledon Championships.Wawrinka has been in decent form this year as he reached the semi-finals of the Australian Open, reached the final of the Indian Wells Masters and won the Geneva Open. Fognini on the other hand, has produced several promising performances this year – among them wins over Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Kei Nishikori, and World No.1 Andy Murray. The Italian also gave a tough fight to Rafael Nadal in the second round of the Madrid Open, pushing the Spaniard to three sets before he eventually won. The possibility of a Wawrinka-Fognini encounter comes in the third round, where Wawrinka should reach easily. Fognini has a tricky path as he would have to go past promising youngster Frances Tiafoe. However, given the Italian’s form, he should make it to the third round where he and Wawrinka would face each other for the sixth time.
#4. Andy Murray vs Juan Martin Del Potro
Neither Murray nor Del Potro have been in the best of form this year, both mainly due to fitness issues. Both of them are in Section 1 of the main draw and would most likely meet in the third round. While Murray takes on Andrey Kuznetsov in the first round, Argentina native Del Potro will take on compatriot Guido Pella.In the second round, however, Del Potro might have a trciyk task as he would face either Nicolas Almagro or Marcos Baghdatis, both of whom are former Top 10 players with the former having reached the quarter-finals of the French Open in every alternate year from 2008-2012.Del Potro and Murray have met each other 9 times with Murray leading the head-to-head 6-3. Both met twice last year, with Murray winning their first match at the final of the Rio Olympics in four sets before Delpo defeated him at their Davis Cup meeting in an exciting five-setter. Provided both players reach the third round, their battle would be exciting to watch.
#3. Andy Murray vs Alexander Zverev
While Murray has been in poor form this year, Alexander Zverev has been in terrific form this season, having won the Italian Open by defeating Novak Djokovic in the final which helped him break into the Top 10 of the ATP rankings for the first time. That also marked Zverev’s first ever Masters title, and made him the youngest player since Novak Djokovic to achieve the feat.Murray and Zverev have met each other once previously in the first round of last year’s Australian Open where the former trounced the latter in straight sets. In the French Open, the pair will cross paths provided they both reach the quarter-finals.
World no. 1 Murray will have a tricky path there because he will most likely have to battle past Juan Martin Del Potro in the third round, following which he will likely take on Tomas Berdych in Round 4. Ninth-seeded Zverev should make it to the third round easily, where he would be up against Pablo Cuevas of Uruguay. Cuevas reached the quarter-finals of the Indian Wells Masters and the semis of the Madrid Open, beating Zverev in the quarter-finals.
Provided Zverev beats the Uruguayan, he would face a tougher opponent in Kei Nishikori in the fourth round. However, Zverev should edge out the Japanese given his present form – and as things currently stand, Cuevas may be a tougher opponent than Nishikori. If Murray and Zverev lock horns in the quarter-finals, their matchup would be a lot different than their previous meeting – Zverev might even defeat Murray to reach his first Grand Slam semi-final.
#2. Dominic Thiem vs Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic has reached the latter stages of a few big tournaments this year but has not been in the best of form. Dominic Thiem, on the other hand, is having his most successful season so far, having reached the final of the Madrid Open and the semi-finals of the Italian Open.
Thiem also won the Rio Open this year and reached the quarter-finals of the Indian Wells Masters earlier on.Djokovic and Thiem met at the semi-finals of the French Open last year, and have a chance of playing each other this time as well – but earlier, at the quarter-finals. The World No. 2 has a few tricky opponents to overcome en route to the quarter-finals in Marcel Granollers, Janko Tipsarevic, Mischa Zverev, and Lucas Pouille.
His young Austrian opponent should have an easy path to the fourth round where he will be up against David Goffin, who had defeated him at this stage during the Australian Open. However, Thiem has enough firepower in his belly to get the better of the Belgian.So far, Djokovic and Thiem have played each other five times with Djokovic winning all of them and all matches being one-sided. Their most recent encounter was a few days ago at the Italian Open where Djokovic completely outclassed Thiem 6-1, 6-0. However, if both players meet each other at the quarters, their matchup could be exciting for a change.
#1. Rafael Nadal vs Novak Djokovic
Having won almost every clay-court tournament he has played in, Rafael Nadal is the overwhelming favourite to win the French Open. Defending champion Djokovic is also a strong contender to win the title. Nadal and Djokovic have met once this year at the Madrid Open where the Spaniard won 6-2, 6-4 – going on to win the title. It would be exciting to witness a Nadal-Djokovic clash at the French Open and this will be possible if both reach the semi-finals. Nadal has a tricky first round opponent in Benoit Paire but should beat him easily and should have an easy path to the fourth round where he will be up against big serving American Jack Sock. In the quarters, Nadal will probably face Milos Raonic for the second successive time at a Grand Slam.Djokovic’s biggest obstacle en route to the semi-finals will be Dominic Thiem, whom he will most likely play in the quarter-finals. Provided Nadal and Djokovic meet at the semis, it would be their 51st encounter and Nadal would be willing to narrow his head-to-head against Djokovic, trailing 24-26 so far.
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