Roland Garros 2020 Preview
Men’s Singles
Last years final won’t be repeated, as Dominic Thiem and Rafael Nadal can only meet in the semis this year.
In forecasting what may happen, let’s look at each quarter, beginning with that of the top seed Novak Djokovic.
Coming off a successful win in the Rome Masters 1000, Djokovic must enter Paris with confidence. His draw reads well, with first real test expected to come in the round of sixteen where he could meet Cristian Garín (20), a semi finalist in Hamburg, or Karen Khachanov (14), a Roland Garros quarter finalist last year. Ugo Humbert may be a spoiler, given his quarter final showing in Hamburg.
Assuming Djokovic survives through to the final eight, he is seeded to meet seventh seed Matteo Berrettini.
However, Berrettini has some work to do before that, with Vasek Pospisil first up, and the likes of Roberto Bautista Agut (11) and Pablo Carreño Busta (18) in his section.
Daniil Medvedev is the fourth seed and his quarter has some challenges, especially considering the Russian’s record at the clay court major. He has been ousted in the opening round at each of his three attempts.
And in Hamburg last week, as top seed, he was dumped in the first round, not the ideal preparation.
Medvedev is too good now to let that worry him and he should navigate his way to the round of sixteen, Ramos-Viñolas possibly the only trouble, the Spaniard a former quarter finalist here.
Possible fourth round opposition is Andrey Rublev (13), a semi finalist in Hamburg.
Rublev is a future star, but for now the quarter final should be Medvedev v fifth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas, whose form is solid, also being a Hamburg semi finalist. Tsitsipas made the fourth round here last year, beaten by Wawrinka in a five set thriller.
Tsitsipas could face problems from Shapovalov (9), but I see him riding that through.
Dominic Thiem, 2019 finalist, and third seed, finds himself in arguably the most difficult quarter.
The newly crowned US Open champion is rightly one of the hot favourites to win in Paris, but he has to defeat Marin Cilic before doing anything else, and that’s not the simplest start. Cilic was a quarter finalist here in 2017-18.
Casper Ruud in the third round, and Stan Wawrinka in the round of sixteen represent strong opposition. Ruud is a young gun rising, and currently in the Hamburg semis.
Wawrinka has won Roland Garros before, and his credentials are clear.
If Thiem reaches the quarters, and that scenario is credible, he is seeded to play Gaël Monfils (8).
Monfils has Coric (24), Kecmanovic, and of most concern Schwartzman, in his section, but has the game to match them if fit and focused.
Rafael Nadal is as unprepared for an assault on Roland Garros as one can recall, only playing one lead up tournament, and beaten in the quarters there.
Still, the 12 time champion is the favourite, and his draw suggests a smooth run through to a round of sixteen clash with Fabio Fognini (14), a player to whom he’s lost four times in sixteen matches, three of those in 2015.
The fourth loss was last year in Monte Carlo, but no one is suggesting the Italian will surprise Nadal if they do meet in Paris this year.
A quarter finalist last year was Alexander Zverev, sixth seed this year, and likely to reach the quarters once more. I can’t envisage anyone preventing him apart from maybe David Goffin (11) or Jannik Sinner in the fourth round. Zverev will be using the momentum of his US Open performance to threaten again at Grand Slam level.
Can he stop Nadal on clay and at Roland Garros ? Under normal circumstances the odds are heavily against him. This year, he is a rough chance.
In summary, my quarter final predictions are:
Novak Djokovic (1) v Roberto Bautista Agut (11)
Daniil Medvedev (4) v Stefanos Tsitsipas (5)
Gaël Monfils (8) v Dominic Thiem (3)
Alexander Zverev (6) v Rafael Nadal (2)
Semi finals:
Novak Djokovic (1) v Stefanos Tsitsipas (5)
Dominic Thiem (3) v Rafael Nadal (2)
