We've got three picks from the WTA French Open qualifying round today, and honestly this is a tricky slate to call. Rankings don't mean much at this level of qualifying, and all three matches look competitive on paper. Which of these underdogs do you think pulls through?
WTA French Open Predictions
Mayar Sherif vs Andrea Lazaro Garcia
Head-to-head: Sherif 1-2 Garcia
Garcia actually leads this head-to-head despite being ranked 37 places lower, which tells you something about how these two match up. Sherif has had a quiet stretch of results recently and hasn't been playing with much conviction and on a slow clay surface Garcia's consistency from the baseline tends to wear opponents down over three sets.
The ranking gap suggests Sherif should be the favorite, but the H2H says otherwise and I trust that more here.
Prediction: Garcia in 3
Dominika Salkova vs Veronika Podrez
Head-to-head: Salkova 0-1 Podrez
Podrez is the lower-ranked player but has already beaten Salkova in their only meeting, so she's got no reason to feel intimidated going in. Salkova is the more experienced at this level and the ranking advantage is real, but hard to see this being competitive at all given how the H2H reads.
Prediction: Podrez in 3
Lanlana Tararudee vs Despina Papamichail
Head-to-head: First meeting
Papamichail comes in ranked 71 spots below Tararudee, but the Greek player, a natural clay courter who has been grinding qualifying draws for years, has been grinding through qualifying draws at this level for years. Tararudee has the ranking and should be the favorite on paper, but clay tends to neutralize that kind of gap more than any other surface. That said, Papamichail's ability to stay in long rallies without panicking makes her dangerous over three sets and should have enough on this surface, all things considered.
Prediction: Papamichail in 3
For full predictions on ATP and WTA matches today, check out Uppset.
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