The 2024 Paris Olympics continues at Roland Garros with Taylor Fritz up against Jack Draper while Lorenzo Musetti faces Mariano Navone. Damien Kayat previews.
2024 Olympic Games
Paris Olympics
Roland Garros
Selected 2nd round matches 30 July
Taylor Fritz 9/20 | Jack Draper 17/10
This looks set to be a mouthwatering clash between two of the biggest pinup idols in men’s tennis. This has just been a wonderfully consistent season for 7th seed Taylor Fritz.
The big-serving American has reached two Grand Slam quarterfinals (including one on these very courts). He also won titles in Delray Beach and Eastbourne.
But perhaps his most significant result of the season was his runner-up finish in Munich (his first-ever ATP final on clay). Fritz has become an adroit all-court operator who isn’t solely dependent on his serve-forehand combination (though that doesn’t hurt).
He was ruthlessly efficient in his straight-sets win against Bublik, serving 12 aces and winning an astounding 91% of his first-serve points. That result improved his 2024 clay-court record to 14-6 and he is quickly emerging as a true dark horse medal threat.
British No.1 Jack Draper was equally impressive in his opener, dismantling Rio bronze medallist Kei Nishikori 6-1, 6-4. The British lefty got to show off his prodigious shot-making skills against the gritty veteran, hitting 20 winners to just 12 unforced errors in a pretty dominant display.
The win was just his fifth clay-court win in a season defined by injury. Draper started the season with a brilliant runner-up finish at Adelaide. He would later reach his first-ever ATP 500 semifinal in Acapulco (though he was forced to withdraw from his semifinal with an undisclosed illness).
He struggled for fitness and form in the wake of that heartbreaking withdrawal. But he suddenly burst back into life on grass, winning his maiden ATP Tour title at the BOSS Open.
He was disappointingly ousted by Cameron Norrie at Wimbledon (which must have been somewhat galling given that Draper had recently usurped Norrie at Brit No.1).
The Verdict: Draper to win in three 46/10
This will be their 3rd career meeting, with both players sharing the spoils at one win apiece. Fritz won their most recent encounter earlier this season, edging out the Brit in a tense clash on the Munich clay.
This could really go either way. Fritz clearly has the superior clay-court pedigree (reaching a quarterfinal on these surfaces earlier this season). But there is something about Draper’s whippy lefty serve that makes him an exciting upset candidate (especially in this three-set format).
Lorenzo Musetti 42/100 | Mariano Navone 37/20
This looks set to be a juicy clash between in-form Musetti and up-and-coming clay-court specialist Navone. What a few months it has been for Italian Lorenzo Musetti. The graceful all-court player had been enjoying a pretty humdrum campaign going into the grass-court swing.
But the fleetfooted Musetti really clicked into gear on the grass, reaching the semifinals in Stuttgart before a runner-up finish in Queens. He then shocked the world with a herculean run to the Wimbledon semis (registering his maiden Grand Slam semifinal in the process).
His multifaceted approach to the game is a breath of fresh air in the age of ‘big serve, big forehand’ tennis. He underlined his all-court dexterity with a runner-up finish in Umag on the eve of this year’s games. In fact, he had to pull off some Ethan Hunt globe-trotting just to get here on time for his opening match against Gael Monfils. But he never missed a beat against the veteran Monfils, taking him down 6-1, 6-4 despite a lack of proper sleep.
This has been a pretty insane year for 23-year-old Argentine Mariano Navone. Bear in mind, the pugnacious clay-court specialist had never won a main draw match before this season.
He prospered on last year’s Challenger Tour, winning five titles and reaching another final (all of those coming on clay). And he has managed to transfer that positive juju over to the main tour. He produced one of the most underrated shocks of the season, finishing runner-up in Rio as a qualifier!
He backed that up with another runner-up finish in Romania and a semifinal run in Marrakech. He hasn’t quite been able to replicate that form in the premium clay events (though he did push Machac to five sets in their 2nd round French Open tie).
And he just showcased his clay-court worth again, taking down Bastad champion Nuno Borges in straight sets, winning a remarkable 47% of his first-serve return points. Wow!
The Verdict: Musetti to win in three sets 11/4
This will be the first career meeting between these two. This could be a tough challenge for Wimbledon semifinalist Musetti. He has been playing almost non-stop tennis for the last six weeks and Navone is an old-school clay-courter who relishes extended rallies.
Navone is very much cut from the mould of idol David Nalbandian. He isn’t as graceful as Musetti, relying on dogged determination and a powerful work ethic (think a somewhat bigger Diego Schwartzman). I think that could give the slightly jaded Musetti a few issues. Having said that, Musetti should emerge victorious over the three sets.
