French Open in Paris, 1st round, Monday, May 26, 2025, 1:00 p.m.
Being in top form just in time for the second Grand Slam tournament of the year is not necessarily a given for German tennis stars. Daniel Altmaier has had a mixed few weeks, but he is definitely one to watch on clay.
An easy opponent? The Kempen native definitely didn’t get one at the French Open.
In my Altmaier Fritz tip, I’ll tell you why I don’t expect this to be a quick match and why I’m predicting over 3.5 sets.
From a German perspective, hopes are once again pinned on Alexander Zverev. He is one of the favorites at the French Open, but his colleagues have been dealt some really tough opponents in the opening round.
This also applies to Daniel Altmaier, who faces Taylor Fritz in the first round. I should point out that this is the first time these two have ever faced each other on court.
A match was supposed to take place in 2023, but Fritz withdrew at short notice. The 26-year-old German knows, of course, that he could have had a much easier opponent to start with.
Altmaier was also unlucky with his first opponent at the Bitpanda Open in Hamburg, losing 3-6, 3-6 to Felix Auger-Aliassime. The Canadian served powerfully, giving Altmaier only one break point, which he failed to convert.
In the previous Challenger tournament in Turin, he reached the semi-finals before losing to Alexander Bublik. He also defeated Flavio Cobolli (in straight sets), who is the newly crowned champion of Hamburg.
Altmaier often alternates between strong and weaker performances. Five years ago, when he made his debut at the French Open, he reached the round of 16 straight away, and that as a qualifier.
At that time, he defeated Matteo Berrettini, who was still in the top 10 in the world at the time. Only once, in 2022, did he fail in the first round. Last year, he lost in the second round to Stefanos Tsitsipas.
How do you deal with the odds given that Altmaier has been drawn against such a strong opponent? Our betting providers are offering average odds of 1.25 to 3.85.
Altmaier is therefore the underdog, but he is not really that far behind. For Taylor Fritz, an exit in the first round is not really an option; the world number 4 has big goals in Paris.
He has never made it past the round of 16 in the French capital, so the French Open is not exactly his favorite Grand Slam tournament. The American recently prepared for Roland Garros in Geneva.
After a narrow 6-4, 7-6 victory over Quentin Halys, he lost 3-6, 6-7 to Hubert Hurkacz. Previously in Rome, he lost 6-7, 6-7 to Marcos Giron in the first round.
The round of 16 in Madrid wasn’t exactly a sign of things to come either. Anyone who follows Fritz regularly knows that close results and tiebreaks are usually the order of the day for him.
His last eleven matches featured eight tiebreaks. The corresponding tiebreak bet would earn you odds of 1.70 at Bet365. In his defeat to Hubert Hubert Hurkacz, he won 89% of the points on his first serve, but less than 40% on his second.
If Fritz uses his height of 1.96 m as usual, returning the ball is by no means easy. However, if his opponent also has a strong serve, as is the case with Hurkacz, this poses a certain danger.
My Altmaier Fritz tip
Was Daniel Altmaier happy with this draw? Probably not! As so often, the German has to face a really tough opponent right at the start. He has no experience of Taylor Fritz, but I can assure him that his opponent is not in top form.
The last few tournaments have not gone according to plan for the American, and the French Open is not his favorite Grand Slam. Accordingly, I don’t necessarily expect Fritz to get through this one easily, so my prediction is:
We’ll see more than three sets!
