French Open in Paris, 2nd round, Thursday, 29.05.2025, 3:00 p.m.
Are Austrian hopes for a strong showing at the 2025 French Open slim? They are extremely slim. The nation no longer has a top player, but that doesn’t rule out a surprise in Paris.
A qualifier will play his second-round match on Thursday. Sure, he’s the underdog, but his opponent is well known for his nerve-wracking matches.
In my Shapovalov Misolic tip, I’ll tell you why I’m betting on a close match and at least one tiebreak.
Anyone who is ranked 153rd in the world at the start of the French Open knows that surviving the qualifiers is no mean feat. However, Filip Misolic has shown his best side in recent days and actually made it into the main draw.
After qualifying victories against Liam Draxl (6-2, 6-2) and Lukas Neumayer (7-6, 7-5), he also knocked out second seed Alexander Shevtchenko (6-4, 6-4). Reaching the main draw without losing a set, the victories gave the 23-year-old a huge confidence boost.
In the first round, he made a strong comeback, defeating Bu Yunchaokete 5-7, 7-6, 7-6, 6-1. He held his nerve in both tiebreaks, and the clear set at the end of the match underlined that Misolic had fought his way back brilliantly.
Of course, Misolic was also lucky that his opponent failed to capitalize on his own mistakes on serve. He gave away a total of 15 break points, but Yunchaokete was only able to convert two of them. At 1.80 meters tall, the Styrian is not exactly one of the giants of the serve.
It’s not entirely surprising that he has already racked up four wins at this French Open. Misolic came out on top at the Challenger in Prague, and the quarterfinals in Zagreb weren’t too bad either. The 23-year-old knows that he can go further than expected here in Paris.
Last year, he qualified for the second round. His final opponent was Francisco Cerundolo, who was ranked 27th in the world at the time.
Denis Shapovalov is currently ranked 31st, which is very similar. Misolic and Shapovalov have never played each other before, but they both have interesting technical details to offer.
The Canadian plays a one-handed backhand with his left hand, while Misolic uses both hands to play the classic shot. Let’s take a look at our bookmakers to see who they think is clearly ahead.
Although Shapovalov is more than 100 places ahead of Misolic, the odds are relatively similar. From an Austrian perspective, Oddset is also offering average odds of 2.30 to 1.55, so a chance of reaching the third round is definitely realistic.
Denis Shapovalov has never made it past the third round at the French Open, so I can’t really call it his favorite Grand Slam tournament. On the plus side, his last three opponents, Hubert Hurkacz, Carlos Alcaraz, and Holger Rune, were all really tough.
The 26-year-old has already cleared the first hurdle of 2025 with flying colors, defeating Pedro Martinez 6-2, 6-0, 6-3. And that despite seven double faults and only 62% of his first serves landing.
However, he took advantage of an outstanding eight out of eleven break points, so the match was over relatively quickly. Nevertheless, there had been relatively little to see in the way of commanding performances in recent weeks from the enfant terrible of the tennis world.
In Rome, he lost in the first round to Vilius Gaubas, and since reaching the semi-finals in Acapulco at the end of February/beginning of March, Shapovalov has not won two consecutive matches.
My Shapovalov Misolic tip
A third round for Austria – a few days ago, hardly anyone would have thought it possible! Filip Misolic fought his way through qualifying and then survived the first round in the main draw.
Denis Shapovalov can beat the best, but at the same time he is prone to slip-ups against underdogs. As the Austrian also impressed me with his nerves of steel in tiebreaks, I’m going for exactly this bet and say:
We’ll see at least one tiebreak!
