French Open June 5th, Tips and Previews

Roger Federer defeated Marin Cilic in his second-round match on Thursday to book his place in the third round, where he will face Dominik Koepfer.

Federer won 6-2, 2-6, 7-6 (4), 6-2 and looked comfortable on the court for the most part. Federer was a little wasteful though, as he converted just five out of the 16 break points he got. 

The Swiss looked pumped up after getting a two sets to one lead, and he coasted home in the fourth without breaking a sweat. He showed he is still a force to be reckoned with in this tournament.

Dominic Koepfer, meanwhile, beat Taylor Fritz 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 6-4 to reach the last 32 at Roland Garros for the first time in his career. The clay specialist will be buzzing at the opportunity to take on Federer and arguably won’t ever get a better chance to defeat him.

The 27-year-old committed 53 unforced errors – a number he would have to reduce in the match against Federer. Federer won’t allow him to get away with such sloppy play and may thrive off it in order to keep his own stroke play to a minimum.

Fed will go through here and isn’t a bad price considering the matchup. 

Carlos Alcaraz takes on Jan-Lennard Struff in the third round of the French Open at Roland Garros.

18-year-old Alcaraz is all the rage at the moment and is in terrific form after an incredible, joyous three-set victory against Nikoloz Basilashvili, made him the youngest player to reach the third round of a Grand Slam since Rafael Nadal at the 2004 Australian Open.

The current world number 97 looks set to shoot up the world rankings no matter what happens here which looks a richly deserved rise. He faces in-form Jan-Lenard Struff, who backed up an incredible five-set win over Andrey Rublev with an assured three-set victory against Facundo Bagnis. 

The straight sets win was a much needed reprieve after a monster five set marathon in the opening round.

Struff is the underdog now for this contest which seems a tad off the mark, he looks to be terrific value going into this contest.

There looks to be sets in this for both players and realistically Struff should be the winner of this match if he can maintain calm and the level with which he has been playing. His experience may be too much for Alcaraz.

On the women’s side of the draw my attention is drawn to Ons Jabeur vs Magda Linette.

Jabeur comes into this match after beating Astra Sharma and Yulia Putinseva in straight sets in the previous two rounds. She has been in cruise control so far in the tournament. 

The Tunisian player has lost only three matches on the dirt in 2021. She even kicked-off her clay season by reaching the finals in Charleston.

Jabeur has also beaten Coco Gauff, Alize Cornet and Sloane Stephens on clay this year, and with her current momentum, she will expect to make a deep run at this year’s Roland Garros.

On the other hand, Linette defeated Ash Barty in the second round after a hip injury forced the World No. 1 to retire mid-way through the second set.

She reached the semifinals in Strasbourg which has given her good momentum headed into the major tournament. This is however her maiden appearance in the third round of the French Open.

Although Jabeur has been clinical so far, she could have a battle on her hands against the inspired Pole.

Jabeur will try to upset the rhythm of Linette by using her power to blast her off the court. It is her major strength in this matchup.