2012 French Open: TK's Picks for Day 3

Here's a look at the matches for Day 3 of the French Open. I was 5-4 yesterday with my picks; I will try to do much better today.

No. 14 Francesca Schiavone vs. Kimiko Date-Krumm: Schiavone has been in the last two French Open finals, but she has not been playing well lately—even on clay. Date-Krumm continues to defy age, but I don’t think she will have enough in this match.

Winner: Schiavone in three sets

No. 5 Serena Williams vs. Virginie Razzano: Razzano can be a tricky first-round opponent. She will also have the crowd behind her, but I don’t think it will be enough.

Winner: Williams in two sets

No. 8 Janko Tipsarevic vs. Sam Querrey: This should be a really good battle. Querrey is definitely capable of pulling off the upset. To me, this has five sets written all over it.

Winner: Tipsarevic in five sets

James Blake vs. No. 27 Mikhail Youzhny: Blake hasn’t done much lately, and he’s never done much on clay. He’s certainly capable of beating Youzhny, but I see no reason to think he’s going to do it at this point in his career.

Winner: Youzhny in three sets

Donald Young vs. Grigor Dimitrov: This is a battle of young players who were expected to do big things. The difference is Dimitrov still has time to reach his full potential.

Winner: Dimitrov in four sets

Ivan Dodig vs. Robin Haase: Both of these guys are capable of knocking off a top player, but only one will survive to the second round. This should be another five-set marathon.

Winner: Haase in five sets

Lucie Hradecka vs. Julia Goerges: Hradecka has shown she can play on the clay, while Goerges has struggled this clay-court season. This would be the perfect time for Goerges to find her game.

Winner: Goerges in three sets

Tsvetana Pironkova vs. Yanina Wickmayer: Pironkova seems to only play well at Wimbledon. Wickmayer hasn’t had many impressive results since her run to the semifinals at the U.S. Open in 2009. One of them has to win in what should a long, tough match.

Winner: Wickmayer in three sets

Greta Arn vs. No. 22 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova: Pavlyuchenkova has had a rough year. She has actually done better in doubles than in singles. Arn is capable of pulling off an upset against almost anyone.

Winner: Arn in three sets

Jarkko Nieminen vs. Igor Andreev: This should be a good, quality match between veteran players. I think Nieminen’s edge in experience will be the difference.

Winner: Nieminen in five sets