Some of the first round action at the 2023 French Open will see Aliaksandra Sasnovich taking on Clara Tauson and Kamilla Rakhimova playing Sára Bejlek. Get the latest predictions along with the odds, preview and head to head for these matches along with Leolia Jeanjean v Kimberly Birrell and Panna Udvardy v Iryna Shymanovich.
Aliaksandra Sasnovich v Clara Tauson Preview
Head-to-Head: There has been one previous meeting between these two players which came in Melbourne last year. Sasnovich had won that in straight sets.
It’s not been the best of starts for Sasnovich on clay with the Belarusian having lost four of her seven matches on this surface this year. This is the same player who defeated Emma Raducanu and Angelique Kerber en route the fourth round of the French Open last year.
Overall too, Sasnovich has looked off-colour on court in 2023, having not won successive matches in any of the tournaments she’s participated in.
The good news for her is she will be up against the 20-year-old Tauson who has herself fallen to 126th on the WTA charts. And that has been down to her inability to play in too many tournaments all season.
The former world number 30 made it through to the main draw here with wins over Katie Swann, Petra Marcinko and Mirjam Bjorklund but this will be her first real test. Interestingly, bookmakers have listed here as the favourite here.
Aliaksandra Sasnovich v Clara Tauson Tip
Three sets in the match: 6/4
Kamilla Rakhimova v Sára Bejlek Preview
Head-to-Head: Rakhimova and Bejlek have never faced off before this
Rakhimova has climbed up to 85th on the WTA charts at the moment, which is her career-best ranking. While she hasn’t done too much of note on clay in recent times, she did begin the clay swing with a top performance at the Bogota Open.
The Russian overcame Eugenie Bouchard and Sara Sorribes Tormo on her way to the semifinal and while she did not win another main draw match till this very week, Rakhimova has had a couple of other decent performances in WTA 125 tournaments.
A second round appearance at Rabat earlier this week should be good enough preparation going up against a player ranked 180th in the world that Bejlek is.
Bejlek had to come through the qualifiers to make the first round for the third successive time in a Grand Slam tournament. The question is if the Czech 17-year-old can register her maiden Grand Slam win here. A quick point in case, that Bejlek is yet to win a match at the highest level.
Rakhimova v Bejlek Tip
Rakhimova to win: 4/5
Leolia Jeanjean v Kimberly Birrell Preview
Head-to-Head: This will be the first meeting between Jeanjean and Birrell.
Jeanjean has never been a top-100 player but the Frenchwoman has made it through to the main draw of this tournament as a wildcard. And rather interestingly she will be up against another wildcard entrant, Australia’s Birrell.
It’s not been a very memorable set of performances from Jeanjean this season, with the world number 129 having won just one main draw match all year.
She did make it to the quarterfinal of a WTA 125 event in Saint Malo and then needed a gruelling three-setter to come through against Gabriela Lee in Rabat earlier this week.
Her opponent has struggled as much too but more vitally, isn’t much of a clay-courter. Her record at the lower levels has been proficient in hardcourt competitions but on clay Birrell has played a mere 43 matches – as opposed to 237 on hardcourts – and lost 24.
Jeanjean, with the home advantage to boot too, starts as our pick.
Leolia Jeanjean v Kimberly Birrell Tip
Jeanjean to win: 1/1
Panna Udvardy v Iryna Shymanovich Preview
Head-to-Head: Udvardy and Shymanovich have never faced off before this.
Udvardy is a solid clay-courter who has made three clay-court finals on the Challenger circuit and 14 of them in ITF tournaments. Which is why it’s bit of a surprise to see her start off the clay court season so poorly.
The Hungarian has played three matches, including two in the first round of the ITF circuit, and lost all of them, leaving her with a few question-marks on her mind. A 6-1, 6-1 rout at the hands of Peyton Stearns in the Rabat Open opener earlier this week would have added to the grief.
No surprises then that Udvardy starts off a 9/5 underdog in this match against Shymanovich, a player who has never been ranked better than 200th in the world.
Shymanovich makes her Grand Slam debut here at the French Open having never even played in any qualifiers of a major before. This time around, the Belarusian player enters the main draw on the back of three successive wins in the qualifiers, having also made the final of an ITF event on clay earlier this season.
Udvardy v Shymanovich Tip
Udvardy to win a set – Yes: 4/6
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The 2023 French Open will be played from May 28 to June 11. Get our ultimate guide on tennis betting and predictions here.
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