The opening two Picks were just poor, but Monday was much more frustrating and could easily have landed 2-1 on another day, rather than the 0-3 humbling faced.
Elena Rybakina was two games away from completing a routine First Round win, but managed to lose serve and ultimately become embroiled in a real battle.
The Iga Swiatek win was close, but she started slowly and dropping serve right at the beginning of the second set made it tough.
And then we come to Naomi Osaka who was two points away from opening up a 3-0 lead in the final set... To compound matters, it was a tale of two shots on the same line that swung the match against the former World Number 1 when Osaka missed to drop serve and, after the changeover, Paula Badosa hit the back end of the line at almost the exact same point to save Break Point.
It is early, but this is a difficult opening and that cannot be ignored.
A bit of fortune will help, but just narrowing the parameters a little may just be the key to moving this tournament back towards a positive position in the first week in the French capital.
Daniil Medvedev - 5.5 games v Cameron Norrie: Three years ago, Cameron Norrie reached the Semi Final at Wimbledon and two months later he was playing at a career high World Ranking of Number 8.
Things have changed considerably for the British player in May 2025 with his World Ranking dipping out of the top 80 and Cameron Norrie has struggled for consistency. However, he is still only 29 years old and Norrie will enter the French Open with a lot more confidence having reached the Geneva Semi Final last week and only being beaten by Novak Djokovic in a deciding set.
He was forced to join the Qualifying Rounds in Barcelona and Rome, while also coming through the Qualifiers in Geneva.
Cameron Norrie should take confidence from that run last week and he has long been a solid, if unspectacular clay court player. Prior to his First Round exit last year, Norrie had reached the Third Round at the French Open in three straight seasons, but he may have wished for an 'easier' First Round opponent.
The World Number 11 stands in the way and Daniil Medvedev has beaten Cameron Norrie in all four previous matches on the Tour, including in Rome earlier this month. The numbers have been heavily weighted in favour of Medvedev in those previous matches and it is going to take a considerable effort from Cameron Norrie to turn that form around.
There was a time when Daniil Medvedev would be considered a vulnerable Seed in the early Rounds of clay court tournaments, but he has been much more comfortable on the surface in recent years. He has reached the Fourth Round in three of the last four years at the French Open and the Medvedev wins on the red dirt in 2025 have all been against opponents Ranked outside of the top 20.
His return has been particularly strong in those matches and the Daniil Medvedev win over Cameron Norrie in Rome can be franked with another solid victory over the British player here.
MY PICKS: Daniil Medvedev - 5.5 Games @ 1.72 Bet365 (1 Unit)
French Open Update: 0-5, - 5 Units (5 Units Staked, - 100% Yield)
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