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Roland Garros Day One: Three To See

May 26th 2018

Grigor Dimitrov versus Viktor Troicki

To the casual viewer, this first-round clash looks to be heavily in the favor of Grigor Dimitrov.  He is seeded fourth and facing an opponent who is barely ranked within the Top 90.  As the disparity in their rankings would suggest, it is the Bulgarian who has not only enjoyed more success than Viktor Troicki in 2018, but in the last few seasons overall.  None of that is to say it is safe to dismiss the Serb's chances, however, and Dimitrov knows that.  Troicki was once ranked as high as Number 12, and he has enjoyed success against Dimitrov in the past.  In fact, he has won their only encounter on clay, which was a five-set thriller at this venue in 2016

Grigor Dimitrov

Furthermore, outside of his semifinal showing in Monte Carlo, Dimitrov has hardly played up to his ranking since the Australian Open, leaving him somewhat ripe for an upset, and Troicki is the kind of experienced veteran with an all-around solid game who could deliver it.  Dimitrov still looks good for the victory in this contest, but do not be surprised if Troicki ensures it is not a straight-forward one.

 Venus Williams versus Qiang Wang

For the second consecutive year, Venus Williams will face Qiang Wang in the opening round of Roland Garros and will no doubt be hoping for the same result.  The American has defeated Wang in both of their previous encounters, and it is thanks in no small part to her superior firepower and movement around the court.  As a seven-time major singles champion, her experience at this level, especially in the tight moments, also affords her a crucial advantage over her opponent. 

Venus Williams

But Wang, despite her Number 91 ranking, will not be lacking in belief when she steps on the court against Williams.  Their match here last year was a competitive straight-sets encounter, and she improved upon that when she pushed Williams the distance at Wimbledon a few weeks later.  She will also be well aware that outside of her play at Indian Wells and Miami, Williams has failed to replicate the form that brought her so much success in 2017 and has had precious little success on the clay this year coming into Roland Garros.  As always, it is hard to bet against Williams, as she is the better player, but an upset is certainly not outside of the realm of possibility.

David Goffin versus Robin Haase

David Goffin and Robin Haase are getting to be familiar foes.  They met on three occasions last year and already once this year.  The good news for the eighth seed is that he has enjoyed most of those encounters against Haase, including when they met just a few weeks ago in Madrid.  History has shown, however, that they have predominantly been competitive matches, and as someone still ranked well within the Top 50, nobody, including Goffin, would make the mistake of taking Haase lightly. 

David Goffin

Although the Dutchman's attacking style is better suited to the faster surfaces, it will not be lost on anyone that his lone win against Goffin came on the dirt last year in Gstaad.  When at his best, his aggressive tactics can be unsettling to opponents, and as noted, this has brought him some success against Goffin in the past.  That all said, Goffin has rebounded nicely from the freak eye-injury he incurred earlier this year in Rotterdam to put together a very solid clay season.  Roland Garros has historically been his best major and barring a drop in his level or something special from Haase, Goffin should safely find his way into the second round.