By Chris Oddo | Saturday May 26, 2018
Good times are ahead—15 days of clay-court heaven back-dropped by a Parisian flair that speaks to all of the senses. It’s time for #RG18 and it’s time for your Day 1 preview….
See the Complete Day 1 Order of Play Here
Matches of the Day
There are some interesting tilts on tap on Sunday as main draw singles action kicks off in Paris. Bring your umbrella and something to keep your baguettes dry because we’ll likely get some rain in the afternoon.
If you’re going to Chatrier you get a treat off the bat. No.4-seeded Grigor Dimitrov will face Viktor Troicki and this one is interesting because Dimitrov is a player without a lot of momentum at the moment but we all know he has it in him to catch a wave and reel off a bunch of wins. Could he possibly back up his seed and reach his first career semifinal at Roland Garros? After making the semis at Monte-Carlo and the quarters at Barcelona, Dimitrov’s clay season has taken a turn for the worse—he heads into the French riding a three-match losing streak.
An interesting fact: Troicki defeated Dimitrov in the first round at Roland Garros in 2016, taking a five-setter from the Bulgarian, but it’s Dimitrov who holds the 3-2 lifetime edge over the Serb.
Nishikori Opens on Court 1
One player we’re keeping a close eye on for a potential deep run is Kei Nishikori. The No.19 seed has shown flashes of pure brilliance on the clay this spring, and if there’s anything holding him back it would be the injured wrist that is still not a thing of the past. After a soft window and three straight losses from the Monte-Carlo final to Rome, Nishikori seemed energized in Rome and was barely a casualty of the Novak Djokovic freight train. If he trounces his early opponents and moves through without putting too much wear on the wrist, Nishikori could be in line for a third Roland Garros quarterfinal in four years—maybe better.
Upset Alert?
We’ve picked out four matches that would definitely go down as Day 1 upsets if they happened. Which one of them has the biggest chance of actually happening? It’s not easy, but we do have one in mind… make your vote by logging on to our Twitter poll below.
Goffin Returns
It will be nice to see Belgium’s David Goffin back after what happened to him last year at Roland Garros. He had to end his tournament when he damaged his ankle when sliding into a tarp at the back of the court in the third round against Horacio Zeballos. Goffin faces Robin Haase in round one on Sunday—not an easy first-rounder by any means. Goffin could be the favorite to come out of his quarter because of a favorable draw (if he gets by Haase) and the fact that No.4-seeded Grigor Dimitrov is 5-7 lifetime at Roland Garros. But what about Novak Djokovic? That’s the 3 million dollar question in this quarter of the Roland Garros draw, and he sure looked good at Rome.
New Courts See First Action
Courts 7, 9 and 18 will see their first action at #RG18. They are part of the renovation plan that is moving forward in reshaping the grounds and will culminate in a brand new a roof for Court Philippe Chatrier. There’s still time for Chatrier, but in 2018 we see the beginnings of the new expanded grounds.
Zverev Highest Seed in Action
One of the biggest stories of the clay season, second to only Rafael Nadal on the men’s side, would be Alexander Zverev of Germany. He opens against Ricardas Berankis on Court Suzanne-Lenglen with points to gain. Zverev was knocked out in the first round last year just a week after claiming his first Masters 1000 title in Rome.