Some of the first round action at the 2023 French Open will see Matteo Arnaldi face Daniel Elahi Galan and Oscar Otte take on Alexander Shevchenko. Get the latest predictions along with the odds, preview and head to head for these matches along with Arthur Cazaux v Corentin Moutet and Lucas Pouille and Jurij Rodionov.
Matteo Arnaldi v Daniel Elahi Galan Preview
Head-to-Head: In their only previous meeting the 90th-ranked Galan had defeated Arnaldi in the qualifiers of the US Open last year.
Arnaldi makes it to this tournament as a direct entrant and that has been thanks to his performances on clay this season. Having lost his opener at the San Remo Challenger, Arnaldi won the Murcia Challenger and followed it up with some sweet showing at Barcelona, Madrid and Rome.
At Barcelona, he made it through the qualifiers before defeating Jaume Munar in the first round. He then shocked Casper Ruud on his way to the third round of the Madrid Masters before sending Diego Schwartzman away in the Rome opener.
He will be up against Galan who is also bit of a clay-court specialist but one whose ranking has fallen from a career-best of 67th in the world this season to his current 90th.
That has been down to Galan’s poor showing at the highest level with the Colombian having won just one round on the ATP circuit. He did make it to the final of the Sarasota Challenger and the semifinal in the Cagliari Challenger but is that enough to try and test his opponent?
Arnaldi v Galan Tip
Arnaldi to win: 8/15
Oscar Otte v Alexander Shevchenko Preview
Head-to-Head: Otte and Shevchenko have never faced off in a competitive match before this
Otte has been in such a wretched run of form that he has slid to 120th in the world after being 74th in just the second week of the season this year. And it gets worse on clay where he has won just two main draw matches.
What’s interesting to note is that Otte’s overall record on clay for a player of his style – he majorly relies on his serve – isn’t that bad. In fact a win percentage of 41% is way better than the 32% matches won on hardcourt.
It should help a tad here that one of Otte’s two clay wins at the top circuit this year came against Sebastian Baez. However, he is up against a rival who is currently sitting on his career-best ranking of 84th, having been 158th in the second of the year.
Shevchenko’s turnaround has been down to his Tenerife Challenger title win and a Phoenix Challenger runner-up trophy on hardcourt, a Madrid Challenger victory on clay and then a Madrid Masters third round appearance after starting out as a qualifier.
He had defeated JJ Wolf and Jiri Lehecka in that tournament and gets our backing to come through here.
Otte v Shevchenko Tip
Shevchenko to win AND Both players to win a set: 11/8
Corentin Moutet v Arthur Cazaux Preview
Head-to-Head: This will be the first meeting between Moutet and Cazaux.
Moutet was out of action for a major portion of this season following his Australian Open appearance earlier this year because of an injury.
He returned to competitive tennis in late April when he featured in the Madrid Masters but has lost three successive opening round matches at the highest level – at Madrid, Rome and Lyon.
The Frenchman’s only success has come in the sole Challenger tournament he played in Bordeaux where he overcame Dominic Thiem on his way to the quarterfinals. Which means despite facing an opponent who has never been ranked better than 191st in the world, there’s not much to choose between them.
Even the bookmakers have Moutet pegged at 5/6 to win this while Cazaux is at 1/1 and that is down to the latter’s consistent appearances on clay this season.
While most of those matches have come at the lower level or qualifiers, Cazaux will be happy with his 11-8 win-loss record on that surface in 2023. The question is if he can survive a best-of-five setter.
Cazaux v Moutet Tip
Over 37.5 games in the match: 5/6
Lucas Pouille v Jurij Rodionov Preview
Head-to-Head: Rather interestingly, their only previous meeting came in the qualifiers of this very French Open! Pouille had won that one but Rodionov now has a chance for revenge as he makes it through as a lucky loser.
This is one of those rare matches in which one player has the chance to avenge the result of their previous meeting almost immediately. Only two days ago, on Thursday, these two had met in the qualifiers of this event and Pouille had overturned the loss of the first set to clinch the victory.
They now face off in a best-of-five-set encounter, making it even more difficult for Rodionov who has played just two such matches in his career.
On the other hand, Pouille is a veteran of 10 years of Grand Slam tennis and was once ranked 10th in the world. He might have fallen off to 670th in the world because of his fitness concerns but has the advantage here.
Pouille v Rodionov Tip
Pouille to win AND Both players to win a set: 7/5
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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