French Open 2017: Tuesday Schedule and Predictions for Roland Garros Bracket
Top seed Andy Murray gets his French Open campaign underway on Tuesday at Roland Garros against Andrey Kuznetsov.
Plenty of eyes will be on the Briton, too, as his form heading into this Grand Slam showpiece has been far from impressive. After the top seed in the women's draw, Angelique Kerber, was dumped out of the tournament on Sunday, Murray will be well aware he can't take any chances against the dangerous Russian.
In a wide-open women's bracket, Simona Halep will begin her quest towards a first Grand Slam title against Jana Cepelova, while the impressive Elina Svitolina will take on Yaroslava Shvedova.
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Here is a look at the matches to come on Tuesday and a focus on a couple of the standout fixtures from Paris.
| (7) Johanna Konta vs. Su-Wei Hsieh | (5) Elina Svitolina vs. Yaroslava Shvedova |
| (1) Andy Murray vs. Andrey Kuznetsov | (3) Stan Wawrinka vs. Jozef Kovalik |
| (12) Jo-Wilfried Tsonga vs. Renzo Olivo | Nao Hibino vs. (28) Caroline Garcia |
| (3) Simona Halep vs. Jana Cepelova | Dustin Brown vs. (15) Gael Monfils |
| Alize Cornet vs. Timea Babos | Philipp Kohlschreiber vs. (18) Nick Kyrgios |
| Thanasi Kokkinakis vs. Kei Nishikori (8) | Ashleigh Barty vs. (12) Madison Keys |
| Jan-Lennard Struff vs. Tomas Berdych (13) | Radu Albot vs. Jeremy Chardy |
| Fiona Ferro vs. (9) Agnieszka Radwanska | Risa Ozaki vs. Eugenie Bouchard |
Play will start on all courts from 10 a.m. (BST). For the schedule in full, visit the Roland Garros website.
Murray vs. Kuznetsov
A year ago, Murray came close to clinching what would have been his first Grand Slam title on clay, although he was eventually halted by a then-imperious Novak Djokovic in the final. As things stand, it's tough to see the Scot going quite so far.
That's because Murray has been out of sorts in the buildup to this one. The Briton has failed to progress to a final in any tournament on clay this season and was beaten in the first round of the Italian Open recently by Fabio Fognini.
The draw has done him no favours, either. As we can see courtesy of Stuart Fraser of The Times, there are potentially some tough matches on the cards for Murray:
It would be dangerous to look far ahead, though, as Kuznetsov has shown plenty of promise in the run-up to Roland Garros.
The Russian made it to the semi-finals of the Geneva Open recently, where he was eventually edged out by Stanislas Wawrinka. At that tournament, Kuznetsov also beat Albert Ramos Vinolas, who is a very handy player on clay.
As noted by the ATP Media Info Twitter feed, with a bit more ruthlessness, his match with Wawrinka could have been totally different, too:
Based on his recent form, it would be no surprise to see Murray start tentatively here, and as a result, Kuznetsov will get a set on the board. But eventually, the conditioning and determination of the world No. 1 will see him into Round 2.
Prediction: Murray to win in four sets
Halep vs. Cepelova
With no Serena Williams and no top seed left in the women's bracket, this year's French Open feels primed for a new Grand Slam champion to emerge. Halep will be hoping it's her.
After all, the Romanian heads into this tournament in some of the best form of her career so far. Granted, she came up short in the final of the Italian Open last time out, losing in three sets to Svitolina, but Halep beat some quality on the way there and was excellent in winning the Madrid Open recently, too.
There have been some concerns about the third seed's fitness heading into the competition, as she confirmed she'd suffered some ligament damage in the match against Svitolina.
But as we can see here, courtesy of the competition's official Twitter feed, she's looked in fine fettle in preparations:
Halep has to shake off her reputation for buckling under the pressure, too. There's no denying she has the quality to win a Grand Slam title, making the fact she has only featured in one Grand Slam final—when she was runner-up at Roland Garros in 2014—all the more peculiar.
Per the WTA Insider Twitter feed, aside from her maiden major crown, there's also the chance for Halep to scale the summit of the world rankings for the first time, too:
If Halep plays to the standards she's been showcasing over the past few weeks, she should have no problem overcoming Cepelova, who has never been beyond Round 2 at Roland Garros.
A comprehensive start to the tournament would give Halep the confidence she needs to put together another strong run at the French Open. And that's exactly what she'll get.
Prediction: Halep to win in two sets
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