Day 2 at the French Open brings more round one matches with the top seeds still yet to take the court. In a day that includes both Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic, Monday will surely bring some world class tennis.
Here, I will dive into matches between the resurgent Aslan Karatsev and big serving Alexei Popyrin as well as Felix Auger-Aliassime and veteran Fabio Fognini.
Let's get into my day 2 French Open picks.
Note: Match times are subject to change. Read here for tips on viewing Australian Open matches.
Aslan Karatsev (-150) vs Alexei Popyrin (+125)
6:30 a.m. ET
In 2021, Karatsev became a top 50 player out of nowhere. He came through qualifying and reached the Australian Open semfinals before wining Dubai soon after. After starting 2021 outside of the top 100, he reached a ranking of 14 before the Australian Open the following year. Then, as quickly as he appeared, he seemed to vanish. He compiled a measly 18-31 record in 2022, and Karatsev once again found himself outside of the top 100 before Madrid.
Most tennis enthusiasts have written him off and no longer see him as a threat, but who’s to say he can’t bring back the level we saw in 2021. After coming through qualifying and reaching the Madrid semifinals a few weeks ago, he seems to be finding his once glorious level. Through six sets played and six sets won in qualifying, he is a threat here at Roland Garros.
Although clay is surely not the surface of choice for Popyrin, he has produced great results this year. He won five matches in Rome before falling in a tight third set to Holger Rune.
Between these two players, Karatsev has shown that his highest level is much above Popyrin’s. Popyrin enters Roland Garros with just one win in five previous matches. I expect Karatsev to continue his run of form and for his stubbornness on the baseline to harass Popyrin throughout the match. I believe he is extremely undervalued in this match.
Pick: Karatsev ML (-150 via DraftKings)
Felix Auger-Aliassime (-320) vs Fabio Fognini (+250)
6:30 a.m. ET
Auger-Aliassime has caught the injury bug in 2023. He missed the start of the European clay swing due to a knee injury and returned only to lose in his opening match in both Madrid and Rome. He then found a win last week over the world #240 before withdrawing before his next round match due to a shoulder injury.
The sun is setting on Fognini’s career. We don’t know for sure, but signs are pointing towards retirement soon. With that, his results have fallen off a cliff as he is just 4-9 in 2023. However, the focus and passion the Italian is showing on court is more than what I’ve seen from him in a long time.
Fognini possesses so much natural talent and he still has the shotmaking abilities to compete with the best. I believe Fognini will have the motivation to showcase this talent and kick start a run at what could potentially be his last appearance at the French Open.
Picks: Fognini +5.5 games (-118 via FanDuel), ML (+250 via FanDuel)
