Roland Garros 2024 R1 Predictions

Bonjour, tennis fans! It’s your favourite tennis coach, Tennis Tom, here to serve up some aces with my predictions for the first round of the French Open. The excitement is palpable as the crème de la crème of the tennis world converge on the red clay courts of Roland Garros. I've meticulously analysed the matchups, considering the players' current forms, strengths, and head-to-head records. Join me as I predict who will say "au revoir" and who will say "bonjour" to the second round of this thrilling tournament.

MENS DRAW - Stand out matches

Novak Djokovic 🇷🇸 [1] vs. Pierre-Hugues Herbert 🇫🇷 (W)

Despite Novak admitting he is well below his best, I believe he has enough to get through a tricky Frenchman.

Alexander Zverev 🇩🇪 [4] vs. Rafael Nadal 🇪🇸

With Rafa's ranking at 276, there was always the possibility of a huge first-round match-up for him. Zverev last played Nadal in the 2022 French Open when he was forced to retire after severely injuring his ankle. I have written Rafa off so many times throughout his career, but somehow he finds a way. I don't see it happening. Sacha is in great form but will have to deal with a raucous crowd if he is to progress.

J.J. Wolf 🇺🇸 (L) vs. Carlos Alcaraz 🇪🇸 [3]

This is going to be a treat. Watching Carlos always is, but his opponent J.J. Wolf is another great entertainer. The highlight reel will be one to watch out for. Carlos has had his troubles this year, mainly with niggling injuries. He comes through this test comfortably enough.

Stan Wawrinka 🇨🇭 vs. Andy Murray 🇬🇧

Two legends of the game battle in what could be their last match at Roland Garros. Murray has hinted at retirement this year and will look to have a good run, but I think Stan's clay court nous will give him the edge in this one. It could be an absolute treat that goes 5 sets.

UPSET ALERT

Daniel Evans 🇬🇧 vs. Holger Rune 🇩🇰 [13]

While this may not be a massive stretch, there is almost a 50-place difference between them in the ATP World Rankings. Evans has also only made the second round once in the six trips he has made to Paris. Rune is such an erratic player that Evans has the tools to frustrate him and get the victory in 4 or 5 sets.

Full Round 1 Predictions - MENS

Winners in bold.

Novak Djokovic 🇷🇸 [1] vs. Pierre-Hugues Herbert 🇫🇷 (W)

Roberto Carballes Baena 🇪🇸 vs. Constant Lestienne 🇫🇷

Gael Monfils 🇫🇷 vs. Thiago Seyboth Wild 🇧🇷

Daniel Elahi Galan 🇨🇴 vs. Lorenzo Musetti 🇮🇹 [30]

Francisco Cerundolo 🇦🇷 [23] vs. Yannick Hanfmann 🇩🇪

Filip Misolic 🇦🇹 (Q) vs. Christopher O'Connell 🇦🇺

Fabio Fognini 🇮🇹 vs. Botic Van De Zandschulp 🇳🇱

Pedro Cachin 🇦🇷 vs. Tommy Paul 🇺🇸 [14]

Taylor Fritz 🇺🇸 [12] vs. Federico Coria 🇦🇷

Dusan Lajovic 🇷🇸 vs. Roman Safiullin

Alexei Popyrin 🇦🇺 vs. Thanasi Kokkinakis 🇦🇺

Giulio Zeppieri 🇮🇹 (Q) vs. Adrian Mannarino 🇫🇷 [22]

Tomas Martin Etcheverry 🇦🇷 [28] vs. Arthur Cazaux 🇫🇷

Arthur Rinderknech 🇫🇷 vs. Adam Walton 🇦🇺 (W)

Valentin Vacherot 🇲🇨 (Q) vs. Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 🇪🇸

Felipe Meligeni Alves 🇧🇷 (Q) vs. Casper Ruud 🇳🇴 [7]

Alexander Zverev 🇩🇪 [4] vs. Rafael Nadal 🇪🇸

David Goffin 🇧🇪 vs. Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard 🇫🇷 (W)

Rinky Hijikata 🇦🇺 vs. Luciano Darderi 🇮🇹

Mackenzie McDonald 🇺🇸 vs. Tallon Griekspoor 🇳🇱 [26]

Karen Khachanov [18] vs. Sumit Nagal 🇮🇳

Jozef Kovalik 🇸🇰 (L) vs. Marcos Giron 🇺🇸

Flavio Cobolli 🇮🇹 (Q) vs. Hamad Medjedovic 🇷🇸 (Q)

Daniel Evans 🇬🇧 vs. Holger Rune 🇩🇰 [13]

Alex De Minaur 🇦🇺 [11] vs. Alex Michelsen 🇺🇸

Jaume Munar 🇪🇸 vs. Roberto Bautista Agut 🇪🇸

Roman Andres Burruchaga 🇦🇷 (Q) vs. Jan-Lennard Struff 🇩🇪

Gregoire Barrere 🇫🇷 (Q) vs. Alexander Bublik 🇰🇿 [19]

Mariano Navone 🇦🇷 (Q) vs. Pablo Carreno Busta 🇪🇸 [31]

Nuno Borges 🇵🇹 vs. Tomas Machac 🇨🇿

Thiago Monteiro 🇧🇷 (Q) vs. Miomir Kecmanovic 🇷🇸

Dominik Koepfer 🇩🇪 vs. Daniil Medvedev [5]

Andrey Rublev [6] vs. Taro Daniel 🇯🇵

Pedro Martinez 🇪🇸 vs. Thiago Agustin Tirante 🇦🇷

Luca Nardi 🇮🇹 vs. Alexandre Muller 🇫🇷 (W)

Matteo Arnaldi 🇮🇹 vs. Arthur Fils 🇫🇷 [29]

Ugo Humbert 🇫🇷 [17] vs. Lorenzo Sonego 🇮🇹

Zhizhen Zhang 🇨🇳 vs. Aleksandar Vukic 🇦🇺

Laslo Djere 🇷🇸 vs. Daniel Altmaier 🇩🇪

Marton Fucsovics 🇭🇺 vs. Stefanos Tsitsipas 🇬🇷 [9]

Ben Shelton 🇺🇸 [15] vs. Hugo Gaston 🇫🇷

Kei Nishikori 🇯🇵 vs. Gabriel Diallo 🇨🇦 (Q)

Max Purcell 🇦🇺 vs. Henri Squire 🇩🇪 (Q)

Yoshihito Nishioka 🇯🇵 vs. Felix Auger-Aliassime 🇨🇦 [21]

Sebastian Korda 🇺🇸 [27] vs. Harold Mayot 🇫🇷 (W)

Emil Ruusuvuori 🇫🇮 vs. Soonwoo Kwon 🇰🇷

Jack Draper 🇬🇧 vs. Jesper De Jong 🇳🇱 (Q)

J.J. Wolf 🇺🇸 (L) vs. Carlos Alcaraz 🇪🇸 [3]

Hubert Hurkacz 🇵🇱 [8] vs. Shintaro Mochizuki 🇯🇵 (Q)

Nicolas Moreno De Alboran 🇺🇸 (W) vs. Brandon Nakashima 🇺🇸

Luca Van Assche 🇫🇷 vs. Denis Shapovalov 🇨🇦

Mattia Bellucci 🇮🇹 (Q) vs. Frances Tiafoe 🇺🇸 [25]

Alejandro Tabilo 🇨🇱 (Q) vs. Zizou Bergs 🇧🇪

Jordan Thompson 🇦🇺 vs. Maximilian Marterer 🇩🇪

Fabian Marozsan 🇭🇺 vs. Mikhail Kukushkin 🇰🇿 (Q)

Aleksandar Kovacevic 🇺🇸 vs. Grigor Dimitrov 🇧🇬 [10]

Nicolas Jarry 🇨🇱 [16] vs. Corentin Moutet 🇫🇷

Alexander Shevchenko 🇰🇿 vs. Aslan Karatsev

Terence Atmane 🇫🇷 (W) vs. Sebastian Ofner 🇦🇹 (Q)

Gustavo Heide 🇧🇷 (Q) vs. Sebastian Baez 🇦🇷 [20]

Cameron Norrie 🇬🇧 [32] vs. Pavel Kotov

Stan Wawrinka 🇨🇭 vs. Andy Murray 🇬🇧

Richard Gasquet 🇫🇷 (W) vs. Borna Coric 🇭🇷

Christopher Eubanks 🇺🇸 vs. Jannik Sinner 🇮🇹 [2]

WOMENS DRAW - Stand out matches

Iga Swiatek 🇵🇱 [1] vs. Leolia Jeanjean 🇫🇷 (Q)

The world number 1 is on a roll, and it will take some performance to stop her. The home crowd qualifier will be awkward, but Iga will be in the zone and come through comfortably.

Sachia Vickery 🇺🇸 (W) vs. Ons Jabeur 🇹🇳 [8]

While Ons Jabeur has not had the best 2024, she has the finesse to get through round 1.

Erika Andreeva vs. Aryna Sabalenka [2]

Sabalenka will be hoping to go deep in this Grand Slam and, after recent final losses, doesn't meet Iga Swiatek in the final (lost in Rome and Madrid). Sabalenka strolls through here.

UPSET ALERT

Katie Boulter 🇬🇧 [26] vs. Paula Badosa 🇪🇸

This is a tough draw for fellow Brit Katie. Badosa has been playing well this clay court season and is better on clay. Katie will make it a battle, but Paula will edge it.

Full Round 1 Predictions - WOMENS

Winners in bold.

Sure, here is the list without bullet points:

Iga Swiatek 🇵🇱 [1] vs. Leolia Jeanjean 🇫🇷 (Q)

Lucia Bronzetti 🇮🇹 vs. Naomi Osaka 🇯🇵

Jessica Bouzas Maneiro 🇪🇸 vs. Jana Fett 🇭🇷 (L)

Marie Bouzkova 🇨🇿 vs. Veronika Kudermetova 🇷🇺 [29]

Barbora Krejcikova 🇨🇿 [24] vs. Viktorija Golubic 🇨🇭

Anastasia Potapova vs. Kamilla Rakhimova

Xinyu Wang 🇨🇳 vs. Jule Niemeier 🇩🇪 (Q)

Viktoriya Tomova 🇧🇬 vs. Ekaterina Alexandrova 🇷🇺 [16]

Danielle Collins 🇺🇸 [11] vs. Caroline Dolehide 🇺🇸

Olga Danilovic 🇷🇸 (Q) vs. Martina Trevisan 🇮🇹

Donna Vekic 🇭🇷 vs. Lesia Tsurenko 🇺🇦

Laura Pigossi 🇧🇷 (Q) vs. Marta Kostyuk 🇺🇦 [18]

Katerina Siniakova 🇨🇿 [32] vs. Dalma Galfi 🇭🇺 (L)

Chloe Paquet 🇫🇷 (W) vs. Diana Shnaider

Katie Volynets 🇺🇸 (Q) vs. Aleksandra Krunic 🇷🇸

Rebeka Masarova 🇪🇸 vs. Marketa Vondrousova 🇨🇿 [5]

Coco Gauff 🇺🇸 [3] vs. Julia Avdeeva (Q)

Alison Van Uytvanck 🇧🇪 vs. Tamara Zidansek 🇸🇮 (Q)

Yafan Wang 🇨🇳 vs. Maria Timofeeva

Ajla Tomljanovic 🇦🇺 (W) vs. Dayana Yastremska 🇺🇦 [30]

Liudmila Samsonova [17] vs. Magda Linette 🇵🇱

Rebecca Sramkova 🇸🇰 (Q) vs. Amanda Anisimova 🇺🇸

Yuliia Starodubtseva 🇺🇦 (Q) vs. Cristina Bucsa 🇪🇸

Elisabetta Cocciaretto 🇮🇹 vs. Beatriz Haddad Maia 🇧🇷 [13]

Jelena Ostapenko 🇱🇻 [9] vs. Jaqueline Cristian 🇷🇴

Tatjana Maria 🇩🇪 vs. Clara Tauson 🇩🇰

Laura Siegemund 🇩🇪 vs. Sofia Kenin 🇺🇸

Eva Lys 🇩🇪 (Q) vs. Caroline Garcia 🇫🇷 [21]

Leylah Fernandez 🇨🇦 [31] vs. Jessika Ponchet 🇫🇷 (W)

Xiyu Wang 🇨🇳 vs. Zhuoxuan Bai 🇨🇳

Anhelina Kalinina 🇺🇦 vs. Camila Osorio 🇨🇴

Sachia Vickery 🇺🇸 (W) vs. Ons Jabeur 🇹🇳 [8]

Qinwen Zheng 🇨🇳 [7] vs. Alize Cornet 🇫🇷 (W)

Ashlyn Krueger 🇺🇸 vs. Tamara Korpatsch 🇩🇪

Lin Zhu 🇨🇳 vs. Elina Avanesyan

Anna Blinkova vs. Sorana Cirstea 🇷🇴 [28]

Anna Kalinskaya [23] vs. Clara Burel 🇫🇷

Bianca Andreescu 🇨🇦 vs. Sara Sorribes Tormo 🇪🇸

Oceane Dodin 🇫🇷 vs. Kayla Day 🇺🇸

Daria Saville 🇦🇺 vs. Jasmine Paolini 🇮🇹 [12]

Elina Svitolina 🇺🇦 [15] vs. Karolina Pliskova 🇨🇿

Fiona Ferro 🇫🇷 (W) vs. Diane Parry 🇫🇷

Elsa Jacquemot 🇫🇷 (W) vs. Ana Bogdan 🇷🇴

Panna Udvardy 🇭🇺 (L) vs. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova [20]

Elise Mertens 🇧🇪 [25] vs. Maria Lourdes Carle 🇦🇷

Petra Martic 🇭🇷 vs. Kristina Mladenovic 🇫🇷 (W)

Arantxa Rus 🇳🇱 vs. Angelique Kerber 🇩🇪

Greet Minnen 🇧🇪 vs. Elena Rybakina 🇰🇿 [4]

Maria Sakkari 🇬🇷 [6] vs. Varvara Gracheva 🇫🇷

Bernarda Pera 🇺🇸 vs. Nao Hibino 🇯🇵

Julia Riera 🇦🇷 (Q) vs. Irina-Camelia Begu 🇷🇴

Harriet Dart 🇬🇧 vs. Linda Noskova 🇨🇿 [27]

Victoria Azarenka [19] vs. Nadia Podoroska 🇦🇷

Mirra Andreeva vs. Emina Bektas 🇺🇸

Lucija Ciric Bagaric 🇭🇷 (Q) vs. Peyton Stearns 🇺🇸

Magdalena Frech 🇵🇱 vs. Daria Kasatkina [10]

Madison Keys 🇺🇸 [14] vs. Renata Zarazua 🇲🇽

Yue Yuan 🇨🇳 vs. Mayar Sherif 🇪🇬

Sara Errani 🇮🇹 (Q) vs. Anna Karolina Schmiedlova 🇸🇰

Zeynep Sonmez 🇹🇷 (Q) vs. Emma Navarro 🇺🇸 [22]

Katie Boulter 🇬🇧 [26] vs. Paula Badosa 🇪🇸

Yulia Putintseva 🇰🇿 vs. Sloane Stephens 🇺🇸

Irene Burillo Escorihuela 🇪🇸 (Q) vs. Moyuka Uchijima 🇯🇵 (Q)

Erika Andreeva vs. Aryna Sabalenka [2]