The first few days of the French Open are going to be busy for myself, so the threads will mainly be focusing on putting a few thoughts down noting why selections are being made.
The update from the tournament will be added as soon as Day 2 is completed.
Alex De Minaur - 7.5 games v Alex Michelsen: The 20 year old Alex Michelsen is continuing his surge up the World Rankings and he is operating at a career best number, but like so many American players, the clay courts are a real learning experience for him. This is a talented player, but many from the States are used to the hard courts and the relative quickness of the courts compared with the patient approach needed to constructing points on the clay.
He has found that tough to do, although a couple of wins in Geneva last week will have given Alex Michelsen a boost in confidence ahead of a first match in Paris.
Prior to the two wins last week, Michelsen had won just two of the nine matches played on the clay courts this season and is lack of experience has been telling. The service numbers have really taken a dent with Alex Michelsen not getting as many cheap points as he may do on the faster surfaces, while the inexperience on the red dirt has not helped when it comes to constructing return points.
The First Round match is not against the strongest clay court player, but Alex De Minaur is competent enough on the surface.
He has not had a lot of wins on the clay over the last several weeks, but De Minaur has not been given too many kind draws and defeats to the likes of Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Stefanos Tsitsipas can be forgiven. The Australian did beat Nadal in Barcelona before losing to the Spaniard in Madrid, while Alex De Minaur has beaten the players he would have expected to beat and perhaps lost to those he wouldn't expect to better.
The serve can be vulnerable, but De Minaur looks to be the stronger player when it comes to the return and he should be able to beat Alex Michelsen with some comfort by the time all is said and done.
Alex Michelsen did beat Alex De Minaur earlier this season, but that was on a hard court and the latter can earn some revenge with a big win in the First Round at the second Grand Slam of the season.
Casper Ruud - 7.5 games v Felipe Meligeni Alves: The majority of the top contenders usually avoid playing in the week prior to a Grand Slam beginning, but playing in Geneva has proved a good building block for Casper Ruud. He won that title for a third year in a row on Saturday and has followed the last two by reaching the French Open Final, albeit coming up short against Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.
With so much uncertainty surrounding some of the other contenders, Casper Ruud fans have to believe that their man can go one better this time around.
He has long been one of the better clay court players and Casper Ruud has won two titles on the surface in the lead up to the French Open. He also reached the Final at the Monte Carlo Masters, although the relatively early losses in Madrid and Rome were disappointing.
Casper Ruud will begin his French Open bid on Tuesday so he should be well rested by the time he is asked to take to the court. Being one of the top Seeds, Ruud has also benefited from a kind looking First Round draw, even if Felipe Meligeni Alves is going to be very comfortable on this surface.
The Brazilian reached a new career high World Ranking last month, but he is yet to have cracked the top 100 and so might be a little hardened to the conditions in Paris having coming through three Qualifying Rounds to earn a spot in the main draw. That will help Felipe Meligeni Alves mentally, but this is a significant step up in class compared to the opponents he has beaten to enter the First Round and the general level on which he operates.
Felipe Meligeni Alves has won four matches against top 100 Ranked opponents on the clay courts this season to improve his career mark to five wins against such opponents. However, Meligeni Alves was well beaten by Lorenzo Musetti earlier this month who is the second highest Ranked opponent that he has played on the clay.
This is the first time these players are meeting so it may take Ruud a bit of time to understand what is coming back his way, but in a best of five set match, the expectation is that the World Number 7 will pull clear as it progresses.
Elena Rybakina - 6.5 games v Greet Minnen: An illness meant Elena Rybakina was not able to defend the title she won in Rome last year, but a couple of solid tournaments on the clay courts will have given the World Number 4 real belief ahead of her return to Paris. Last season she was not able to compete in the Third Round match at the French Open, but Elena Rybakina has shown enough on the clay courts in the last couple of years to believe she is a genuine threat to win the title.
Being in the opposite half of the draw to Iga Swiatek will help, although the World Number 1 remains the clear favourite to win the title.
Barring an upset on Monday, that will still be the case when Elena Rybakina takes to the court, but the focus has to be on winning this match and getting her own tournament off to a strong start.
Elena Rybakina and her team have to be happy with the draw that has pitted her agaisnt Greet Minnen in the opening Round.
The Belgian player has dropped down to World Number 86 after a poor run of results on the clay courts over the last couple of months. Greet Minnen has not had a single win against someone Ranked inside the top 100 and she has lost four matches in a row, while she has also suffered some one-sided defeats on the red dirt in 2024.
A major problem for Greet Minnen is that her second serve has proven to be a real weakness in her game and you have to believe Elena Rybakina will be able to exploit that. It has added up to pressure on the Minnen return game, but she will struggle to get a lof of joy from Rybakina barring a poor serving day from one of the favourites.
It is unlikely and Elena Rybakina may be able to get her French Open tournament off to a strong start.
MY PICKS: Alex De Minaur - 7.5 Games @ 2.00 Bet Fred (2 Units)
Casper Ruud - 7.5 Games @ 1.80 Bet365 (2 Units)
Elena Rybakina - 6.5 Games @ 1.66 Bet365 (2 Units)
French Open Update: 2-1, + 0.88 Units (6 Units Staked, + 14.67% Yield)
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