Three picks from the WTA French Open second round today, and there's a decent mix of straightforward and genuinely hard-to-call matches on the slate. Let's get into it.
WTA French Open Predictions
Victoria Mboko vs Katerina Siniakova
Head-to-head: First meeting
Mboko has had a breakout run to get here and at ranking #9 she's shown she can handle pressure on clay, but Siniakova is a tricky first-time opponent. The Czech is a doubles specialist by reputation, but she moves well and doesn't panic in long rallies, and on slow clay that can be enough to drag a match into a third set against anyone.
That said, Mboko's ranking reflects real form, and I think she finds a way through even if it takes three sets to do it, all things considered.
Prediction: Mboko in 3
Iva Jovic vs Emma Navarro
Head-to-head: Jovic 0-1 Navarro
Navarro holds the only previous meeting between these two, so Jovic will want to flip that here. Navarro's a solid all-court player, but her clay game has never been quite as sharp as her hard-court results suggest and Jovic at #17 has the ranking edge for a reason. The conditions should suit Jovic's baseline game more than Navarro's flatter ball-striking.
Close match, but Jovic gets it done in three.
Prediction: Jovic in 3
Aryna Sabalenka vs Elsa Jacquemot
Head-to-head: First meeting
Jacquemot is a wildcard here and on home soil she'll get crowd support, but Sabalenka is the world number one for good reason and the gap between these two is enormous. Sabalenka's been one of the best players on any surface this season and Jacquemot at #63, who has struggled to make an impact at this level all year, simply doesn't have the firepower to trouble her consistently.
Prediction: Sabalenka in 2
For full predictions on ATP and WTA matches today, check out Uppset.
Credit Image: © Shelley Lipton/ZUMA Press Wire
