A couple of holdovers from Tuesday didn't come in as winners, but Wednesday proved to be a very good day at the French Open with the Picks producing a strong winning day.
One match has been delayed until Thursday, but there is some positive momentum behind the Picks as we complete see the Second Round completed. There are plenty of matches on the schedule on Thursday, but the weather forecast looks to have taken a turn for the worse and there are expected to be some delays over the coming days with the potential that at least one day is a complete write off.
It will only increase the pressure on the organisers to bring the French Open up to speed with the other Grand Slams as the last one without any roof- at this time all the other Slams are set to go with two roofed courts at the very least to make sure fans are still able to see action when the weather is not playing ball.
Sometimes Grand Slam events can be a little boring early in the tournament with a number of mismatches in the early Rounds, but that has not been the case at the French Open. I really haven't seen as many of the favourites being pushed this early in a Slam and I mean both in the men's and women's tournaments.
There have been some upsets with the most notable being the exit of defending Champion Jelena Ostapenko from the women's draw, but the majority of the time the favourites have handled the pressurised spots and still managed to come through matches where they have been put under immense pressure.
A couple of those players were in my outright selections but both Simona Halep and Alexander Zverev got through some difficult moments to make their way into the next Round. Halep is back in action on Thursday having had to complete her First Round match on Wednesday, but she will be better for the manner of her recovery against Alison Riske, while Zverev won a match that he has been losing at Grand Slam level which will only increase his confidence in a difficult half of the men's draw.
I have been offering up some analysis of my Tennis Picks so far this week and adding the remaining selections to the 'MY PICKS' part below. That has worked so well and I don't want to change a winning formula so will apply the same on Thursday. As the tournament progresses I will begin to put down my analysis for each Pick going forward once we hit the Third Round on Friday.
Steve Johnson - 1.5 sets v Jan-Lennard Struff: You wouldn't really associate the clay courts as being a surface on which Steve Johnson would enjoy a lot of success but his performances over the last couple of years have been encouraging. The American has also played well enough at the French Open in recent years and has the chance to reach the Third Round for the third time in four seasons including 2017.
This time last year it was the emotions helping Johnson produce some of his best tennis on the clay as he looked to honour the memory of his father who passed away unexpectedly in May. That saw an emotional Johnson playing and winning two matches at the French Open and he clearly feels more at home on the surface now.
Johnson's serve has proved to be a major weapon for him during the clay court swing in 2018 and it was a key to him getting past Adrian Mannarino in the First Round. After saving a number of break points early in the match, Johnson moved forward with confidence and maintained the numbers which have helped him hold over 85% of service games on the surface.
There is more room for improvement on the return of serve but Johnson may have some success against Jan-Lennard Struff who is a comfortable clay courter but who has had a hard time when he steps up his level. His serve is not one that offers up as much in terms of easy points as Johnson's will, although Struff is a competent returner who won't miss the same amount of break points as Mannarino did.
The German dominated Evgeny Donskoy in the First Round but that is surprisingly only his second win at Roland Garros despite the clay court pedigree. That underlines how difficult the step up has been for Struff when facing top 50 Ranked opponents on this surface and I think Johnson is going to be good enough to reach the Third Round here again.
There are likely to be at least one or two key tie-breakers for my selection, but I think Johnson wins this match in three or four sets to move past Struff.
Marton Fucsovics-Kyle Edmund over 35.5 games: The British Number 1 coming into the French Open is Kyle Edmund and it may be argued he is even more comfortable on the clay courts than Andy Murray was in the early years on the Tour. Edmund has had some of his best results on the surface and his numbers back up the comfort he has developed on the clay which makes him a big favourite to make it through to the Third Round.
But don't sleep on Marton Fucsovics who won the title in Geneva last week.
The layers are expecting Edmund to dominate proceedings and he will be tough to beat if he is serving at his very best. However I don't think Edmund will have everything going his way in this one against a player with the confidence of having won a title last week even if some of his performances have been erratic on the clay courts this year.
Fucsovics is clearly comfortable on the surface having dominated Vasek Pospisil in a manner a good clay courter should do. He has also been consistent behind the serve over the last two years and Fucsovics has won 42% of points behind his opponent's serve in each of the last three seasons.
That is the kind of consistency that gives Fucsovics a chance to at least win a set in this one, although actually beating Edmund is going to be very tough. The Edmund serve has been huge for the British player and he holds a large amount of his games and doesn't offer up a lot of chances to break when he is at his best. Edmund has also been returning as well as he ever has on the clay courts and he is definitely a player that could cause problems for higher Seeds later down the line.
I am expecting Edmund to get through this match, but I think we may see at least four sets played between these two in the Second Round and the total games market looks a touch short of games for me.
Pablo Cuevas-Kevin Anderson over 39.5 games: If you like your tennis featuring huge serves and powerful groundstrokes and rallies that don't really extend too far I think this could be the Second Round match for you. Kevin Anderson is a top ten player these days and comes in as the favourite, but he is facing a clay court specialist in Pablo Cuevas who has shown good form in 2018.
It is Cuevas who comes in with the more impressive First Round win having dominated Aljaz Bedene, but Kevin Anderson has a game that can take the racquet out of anyone's hands when at his best.
Anderson also holds two tight wins over Cuevas which may aid him, even though the last of those came in 2014 when the South African was not as strong as he is now. His serve is always going to be very difficult to break, but it is going to be even tougher for Cuevas who has struggled with big servers on the clay courts throughout his career which is underlined by his three set loss to John Isner in Madrid.
That was on a quicker clay court than these two play on in Paris but I think break points will come at a premium for Cuevas.
The same can be said for Anderson considering how well Cuevas serves on the clay and he is holding over 80% of his service games in 2018. That number stays steady when facing the big servers too so Cuevas can handle the pressure that comes from the scoreboard ticking over, while Anderson has shown to have some real troubles in the return aspect on the clay.
It does make Cuevas an appealing price as the underdog, but I think a serve dominated match has every chance of going pretty long. I would be surprised if both players are not able to take a set each in this one and it may come down to a point or two here with perhaps even some luck playing a part in determining a winner.
I wouldn't really put anyone off from backing Cuevas to win this one as the underdog, but I am going to play the total games and look for at least four long sets to be needed before someone is able to walk away with the win.
Elise Mertens - 5.5 games v Heather Watson: A long run without a win was ended in Nuremberg last week and Heather Watson was able to back that up with another in the First Round at the French Open. She was perhaps fortunate to be drawn against an opponent who was in even worse form than Watson, but that is not going to happen in the Second Round on Thursday and the British player will have to really perform above expectations to make this a competitive match.
Watson faces Elise Mertens who is one of the stronger clay court players out there and who has two wins over Watson on hard courts in her career including a three set win in Hobart back in January.
This surface should favour Mertens even more and I don't think Watson will be able to produce the tennis she did on the hard courts and have the same success on the clay. Watson's numbers have taken another decline across the board in 2018 compared with last season and her losses on the clay courts have come against players who are not as competent on this surface as the Belgian she faces in the Second Round.
Over the last two seasons Mertens has produced some really strong returning numbers on the clay courts which have helped her record a 17-7 record, while she is 14-1 in 2018 with two titles earned. Mertens has been even better when facing players outside of the top 20 in the World Rankings with all fourteen wins in 2018 coming against those players and Mertens having been 11-3 against them in 2017.
After a tough First Round win, I think it is safe to say Mertens is almost back to full health after a bacterial infection forced her to withdraw from the Rome Premier Event too. I am expecting Mertens to put Watson under real pressure on the return of serve, especially if Watson isn't able to get enough first serves in play and I think that will mentally wear down the British player.
It should be noted that Watson is a decent returner herself and the Mertens serve can be a little weak at times, but the higher Ranked player has been producing stronger numbers all season on the clay and I like her to win this one and clear the handicap.
Simona Halep - 6.5 games v Taylor Townsend: Just for a few minutes it felt like Simona Halep was going to be the victim of the biggest upset of the French Open through the first few days of the tournament. The women's favourite was down a set to Alison Riske and looked a little lost, while it won't have escaped Halep's mind that while she has reached six Quarter Finals in her last eleven Slams she has also had four First Round exits in that time.
There was a Champion quality displayed by Halep to not only turn things around against Riske but to lose just two games in the final two sets shows the confidence she has on the clay courts. That is not a big surprise considering Halep has arguably been the most consistent player on the surface over the last few years and should really have had at least one Grand Slam title here.
Halep's numbers remain very strong on the surface and it is going to take a big effort from someone to stop her in Paris.
I don't think that someone is going to be Taylor Townsend who is yet to really get to grips with clay court tennis or the move from the Junior to the Pro game. The powerful return could be a problem for Halep if she is not getting enough first serves in play, but Halep's return should put the American under significant pressure too and I expect that to aid her breaking down Townsend's game.
Halep has won her last sixteen matches on the clay courts against opponents Ranked outside the top 50 and those have been played over the last three seasons. Her numbers have continued to improve in those matches as her consistent hitting and ability to turn defence into attack very quickly has been tough for those players further down the Rankings to really compete with.
I think that happens in this Second Round match and Halep will be expecting to dominate Townsend in the same fashion she did on the hard courts in Cincinnati in August 2017.
Townsend once upset Alize Cornet at the French Open, but she is 0-3 against top 50 Ranked opponents on the clay since that win in 2014. The American has won 12 games and lost 36 in those next three matches and I think Halep can cover this very big number by picking up where she left off against Alison Riske.
MY PICKS: Steve Johnson - 1.5 Sets @ 2.10 Paddy Power (2 Units)
Marton Fucsovics-Kyle Edmund Over 35.5 Games @ 1.83 Bet Fred (2 Units)
Pablo Cuevas-Kevin Anderson Over 39.5 Games @ 1.80 Bet365 (2 Units)
Elise Mertens - 5.5 Games @ 1.72 Bet Fred (2 Units)
Simona Halep - 6.5 Games @ 1.91 Bet Fred (2 Units)
Kiki Bertens - 5.5 Games @ 1.95 Sporting Bet (2 Units)
Angelique Kerber - 5.5 Games @ 1.91 Bet Fred (2 Units)
Julia Goerges - 2.5 Games @ 1.80 Boyle Sports (2 Units)
Albert Ramos-Vinolas - 1.5 Sets @ 1.72 Paddy Power (2 Units)
Jeremy Chardy Win 3-1 @ 4.00 Bet365 (1 Unit)
Rafael Nadal - 10.5 Games @ 2.00 Bet365 (2 Units)
Borna Coric - 8.5 Games @ 2.10 Bet Fred (2 Units)
French Open Update: 20-18, + 3.06 Units (75 Units Staked, + 4.08% Yield)
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