We’re into the last 64 at the 2024 edition of the men’s French Open as Stan Wawrinka faces Pavel Kotov and Jannik Sinner faces a tricky tie against Richard Gasquet. Damien Kayat previews.
2024 ATP Tour – Masters 1000
French Open
Stade Roland Garros
Selected Ro64 Matches – 29 May 2024
Stan Wawrinka 5/4 | Pavel Kotov 62/100
With the curtain possibly coming down Rafa Nadal’s French Open participation with defeat to Alex Zverev, there has been very little media coverage surrounding the impending end of Andy Murray’s career.
The surly Scot was soundly beaten by Stan Wawrinka in their first-round clash, probably bringing to an end his association with the French Open. Wawrinka was in inspirational form, earning a break in the beginning stages of each set for quite possibly his best win of the season.
The versatile 39-year-old has enjoyed a wonderful clay-court career, winning the French Open back in 2015 before finishing runner-up in 2017. In fact, this is the only Slam in which he has competed in two finals.
Three of his four career Masters finals have come on clay (his only victory coming at the 2014 Monte-Carlo Masters). His win against Murray improved his awful 2024 tour-level record to 3-6. This could quite possibly be Wawrinka’s final tilt in Paris and he will be hoping for another breezy two-hour affair to increase his chances of a surprise second-week showing.
25-year-old Russian Pavel Kotov also helped to break British hearts in his opener, seeing off a spirited challenge from Cameron Norrie to win just the second Grand Slam match of his career. In contrast to Wawrinka, Kotov had to dig deep against the Brit, fighting back from two sets to one down to prevail in a rain-delayed game.
The 25-year-old Russian has actually been making some incremental gains over the past 18 months or so. He reached three semi-finals last season (including on the Marrakech clay). He also finished runner-up in his first ATP Tour final in Stockholm.
He clearly has an affinity for those Marrakech clay courts, reaching yet another semi-final earlier this season. And he picked up a quarter-final finish in Lyon during his final preparations for this year’s French Open. Kotov is a really solid baseliner who moves really well on these surfaces. He doesn’t have incredible weapons at his disposal and will look to wear the 39-year-old Wawrinka with good old-fashioned hustle.
Verdict: Kotov to win in four 33/10
This will be their first career meeting. I’m perhaps being a bit bold here. Sure, Wawrinka is 39 years of age and Kotov has only won two Grand Slam matches.
But the Russian has been steadily improving over the last few years and Wawrinka is well into the twilight of his glorious career. Kotov won’t be as physically restrained as Murray and could outmanoeuvre the Swiss.
Jannik Sinner 1/50 | Richard Gasquet 12/1
This should be quite an atmosphere, with current wunderkind Jannik Sinner going up against the beloved Richard Gasquet in what could be the Frenchman’s final bow in Paris.
Sinner entered this year’s French Open with an imposing 28-2 record for the season, winning titles in Melbourne, Rotterdam and Miami. He started his clay-court campaign with a semi-final run in Monte-Carlo but he was forced to withdraw from Madrid due to a hip injury.
The initial prognosis was not encouraging and the word around the campfire was that he may actually withdraw from the year’s second Slam. But he showed little signs of undue discomfort in his opener, swatting away big-hitting American Christopher Eubanks in straight sets.
A quarter-finalist here back in 2020, Sinner will be feeling extremely confident of improving on that result this year. He returned brilliantly against Eubanks, taking five of the ten break-point opportunities presented to him.
Blessed with the most aesthetically pleasing single-handed backhand of the modern era, Richard Gasquet came into this year’s French Open with little or no form to speak of.
He had picked up just two wins in ten matches all season (picking up one clay-court win against Thiem in Estoril). But he really turned back the hands of time in his opener, delighting the partisan faithful to see off 12th seed Borna Coric in one of his most complete performances in recent memory.
He served brilliantly, often coming to the net to catch Coric cold. It was almost the perfect template for how he has to confront this match. He can ill afford to engage in protracted baseline rallies with Sinner. He needs to approach the net often and take Sinner out of his comfort zone.
Verdict: Sinner to win in four sets 5/2
Sinner leads Gasquet 2-0 in their head-to-head encounters, winning their previous meeting in three sets at last year’s Halle Open. I just think there’s enough magic left in the Frenchman’s racquet to steal a set off a potentially injury-affected Sinner.
That being said, I can’t imagine the Frenchman consistently getting the best of Sinner in baseline exchanges. And Sinner will eventually find his range and send a plethora of passing shots past the elegant Gasquet.
