Each day during Roland Garros, we'll select three of the most intriguing matches on the schedule and offer our predictions.
Shahar Peer [19] vs. Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez (Court 2, Second Match)
Is it just me, or are there not as many compelling first-rounders as we typically see at a major? This is an exception and one of the few highlights on a lackluster Day 1 slate. Martinez Sanchez won the high-profile Rome tune-up last year with a crafty game that appears built for clay. But when those ranking points recently dropped off, she plummeted from inside the Top 35 to No. 86. Her current three-match losing streak (first-round exits in Stuttgart, Madrid and Rome) hasn’t helped, either. The much more consistent Peer should be able to take advantage, but this should still prove entertaining.
The Pick: Peer in two sets.
Julia Goerges [17] vs. Mathilde Johansson (Court Philippe Chatrier, Fourth Match)
The long clay-court season gives us many chances to talk ourselves into players by the time Roland Garros rolls around. Oftentimes it’s wishful thinking, like in 2008 with Alize Cornet, and last season with Aravane Rezai. This year’s trendy pick is Goerges, who twice beat world No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki on dirt and won Stuttgart. Unlike Cornet and Rezai, Goerges isn’t French—not an insignificant fact, as the Parisian pressure here can be simply choking. Johansson, a Frenchwoman, doesn’t have such lofty expectations levied upon her; the underdog veteran should actually embrace the crowd on the main court. It should all make for a fun match.
The Pick: Goerges in three sets.
Ivan Dodig vs. Pere Riba (Court 17, Third Match)
Novak Djokovic has lost just nine sets so far in 2011. The most unlikely slip-up came in Melbourne in the second round, when Dodig bested Mr. Perfect 10-8 in a second-set tiebreaker. He’d go on to lose the third and fourth sets 0 and 2. But his temporary achievement showed that the man is no pushover. He’ll play Riba on from what I can tell is the most remote court being used today. It’s not where you’ll find glamour, but that’s not what the opening round is for. If I was in Paris, Court 17 is where I’d be sitting.
The Pick: Dodig in five sets.
Ed McGrogan is the online editor of TENNIS.com.