By Jake Davies
- Elena Rybakina [4] vs Linda Noskova
- Ons Jabeur [7] vs Oceane Dodin
- Holger Rune [6] vs Gael Monfils
PARIS, FRANCE – Three contenders for the French Open title all face some difficult tests on Day Five of the second Grand Slam of the season.
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Elena Rybakina [4] vs Linda Noskova H2H and Match Fundamentals
| Elena Rybakina [4] vs Linda Noskova | H2H: First time meeting |
| Roland Garros 2023 | Paris, France |
| Clay (O) | Prize Money: €97,000 |
| First on Suzanne-Lenglen at 11am (10:00 BST) | Discovery+ Add-on via Amazon Prime Sign up for 30 day free trial of Prime Video and a 7 day free trial of Discovery+ Player |
Elena Rybakina had a rather easy ride of it in the first round as she breezed past the up-and-coming Czech teenager Brenda Fruhvirtova in straight sets. After experiencing the best twelve months of her career, Rybakina will be looking to add to the maiden Grand Slam title she earned at Wimbledon last year.
Standing in the Kazakh’s way in the second round is another talented Czech Linda Noskova. Noskova made a name for herself by blasting her way to the French Open juniors title back in 2021 and she has since been one of the few junior players that have taken the transition from youth level to the main tour like a duck to water, now sitting just outside the Top-50 in the space of a couple of seasons.
Rybakina did a good job in the first round of harnessing her groundstroke power to good effect against Fruhvirtova, but this time around she’s going to face someone that has the weapons to challenge and contest her for control of the baseline. Noskova is a naturally aggressive baseliner, with a notably good forehand wing, but much like Rybakina she has her own vulnerabilities when it comes to defence and mobility. Whoever can get the first strike in in this match-up should come out on top.
Prediction: Rybakina in two sets.
Ons Jabeur [7] vs Oceane Dodin H2H and Match Fundamentals
| Ons Jabeur [7] vs Oceane Dodin | H2H: First time meeting |
| Roland Garros 2023 | Paris, France |
| Clay (O) | Prize Money: €97,000 |
| Third on Chatrier after 11am (10:00 BST) | Discovery+ Add-on via Amazon Prime Sign up for 30 day free trial of Prime Video and a 7 day free trial of Discovery+ Player |
Ons Jabeur hasn’t had the most ideal of preparation coming into the French Open, having struggled with a calf injury that forced her to retire in the Stuttgart semi-final and she didn’t appear to have recovered from it in her clash against Paula Badosa in Rome either. As a result the Tunisian’s form is very much up in the air, but she has always had the pedigree and variation on this surface to be one of the contenders.
Her second round opponent isn’t going to be an easy puzzle to solve as she faces France’s Oceane Dodin. Dodin is miles off her career high ranking of No.46 that she achieved back in 2017, but she has that unpredictability factor of being able to catch fire and take the racquet out of her opponent’s hands in a heartbeat. Dodin isn’t necessarily renowned for her clay court credentials and is generally a lot more comfortable on a quick indoor surface where the elements aren’t a factor, but with the Parisian support in attendance this could make it an intriguing battle versus one of the big contenders.
If Jabeur can find a way to keep the ball out of Dodin’s hitting zone and lean on her trusted drop shot to good effect then she should be able to navigate her way through this contest. Dodin is always dangerous, but is quite one-dimensional and struggles for answers once an opponent takes her outside her comfort zone of dictating from the baseline.
Prediction: Jabeur in straight sets.
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Casper Ruud [4] vs Giulio Zeppieri H2H and Match Fundamentals
| Casper Ruud [4] vs Giulio Zeppieri | H2H: First time meeting |
| Roland Garros 2023 | Paris, France |
| Clay (O) | Prize Money: €97,000 |
| First on Chatrier (10.45am BST) | Discovery+ Add-on via Amazon Prime Sign up for 30 day free trial of Prime Video and a 7 day free trial of Discovery+ Player |
Casper Ruud has been searching and longing for better form throughout much of his 2023 season. The Norwegian has built a reputation as one of the more formidable clay court players on tour and made the final at the French Open last year where he lost to eventual champion Rafael Nadal. But this has perhaps been the most vulnerable and inconsistent his results has been on the red clay since becoming a regular on the main tour. The Norwegian won a tour title in Estoril just weeks ago, but since then things have still been somewhat of a struggle for him.
Ruud will be facing Italy’s Giulio Zeppieri in the second round, who will be looking to cause a bit of an upset. Zeppieri has created most of his better victories on the Challenger tour, but is a comfortable operator on a clay court. His main strengths are the leftiness on serve and the way he spreads the court with his cross-court forehand.
I think if Ruud can get a lot out of his serve, set him up and ease him into dictating with his heavy forehand then he will be tough to stop. But Zeppieri has shown in the last 12 months that he will not be going down without a fight, so I wouldn’t be surprised if he prolongs this encounter quite far.
Prediction: Ruud in five sets.
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