It’s Rafael Nadal vs David Goffin as the King of Clay faces the talented Belgian while former French Open Champion Stan Wawrinka is matched up against Grigor Dimitrov on Day 6 of the tournament. Jim Smith and Steen Kirby offer their predictions and we also have predictions for matches featuring Roger Federer and Kei Nishikori.
Rafael Nadal vs David Goffin
Jim: As expected, Nadal made lightwork of his opening two assignments. But against 27th seed Goffin he will need to step up his game. The Belgian has been playing with real conviction so far in Paris and looked very sharp in dispatching Ricardas Berankis and Miomir Kecmanovic. He also has the game to stand up to Nadal, at least for awhile. But its practically impossible to pick against Nadal in Paris and with good reason. Nadal in 4
Steen: Goffin is a capable player who has been struggling lately (with fitness and form), but at least for this tournament he’s looked quite stable. Nadal is a completely different level of opponent than he’s faced so far though, the Spaniard is set to dictate the match and win in relatively routine fashion, sending Goffin home with a solid third round result. Nadal in 3
Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Filip Krajinovic
Jim: Tsitsipas is having to contend with the weight of real expectation for the first time at a Major and so far he has done a reasonably good job. He wasn’t at his very best against Hugo Dellien in the second round and dropped the first set, but righted the ship quickly thereafter. Up against a Krajinovic who has played two lengthy five-setters already, he shouldn’t have too many problems with the Serbian almost certain to be running on fumes. Tsitsipas in 3
Steen: Krajinovic could certainly trouble Tsitsipas but I expect the Serbian to be fatigued after winning a pair of five setters. The Greek is playing well enough on clay to suggest he very well could win this match in routine fashion. Tsitsipas in 3
Stan Wawrinka vs Grigor Dimitrov
Jim: Wawrinka didn’t play anything like his best in the first round, but turned on the style to dismantle Christian Garin in the second. And having beaten Dimitrov last year at Wimbledon and the US Open, he will surely be full of confidence heading into this clash, particularly because it comes on his preferred clay. The Bulgarian is a superbly gifted player, but when Wawrinka is on a roll he is almost impossible to stop. Wawrinka in 4
Steen: Dimitrov will be happy to have found some form to reach round 3 here, with that said, Wawrinka is fit and firing and looks to be the clear favorite here. At his best Stan the Man is one of the best clay courters on tour and I expect him to show some of the reasons why in this match. Wawrinka in 4
Pablo Carreno Busta vs Benoit Paire
Jim: Benoit Paire is a man in fine form. But he has also played a lot of tennis without a massive amount of recovery time after winning the Lyon Open and then battling past Pierre-Hugues Herbert 6-2 6-2 5-7 6-7 11-9 in the second round. Up against a clay-courter as dependable and uncompromising as Carreno Busta, that seems likely to catch up with him. Carreno Busta in 3
Steen: Paire has thrilled the home crowd with his exploits so far but fatigue is going to factor in against capable clay courter Carreno Busta. The Spaniard will try to lengthen the points and push Paire to eventually succumb after all the matches he’s played in the past 7 days. Carreno Busta in 5
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