French Open 2022, 1st Round, Tuesday, 24.05.2022
Qualifier or already an absolute cracker? The world’s best tennis players couldn’t choose who they would start the 2022 French Open against. Many a top star would probably have wished for an easier draw.
When the world number 15 meets the world number 40, anything but a clear result is expected. In my Shapovalov Rune tip, I reveal why this match could well go on for a couple of hours!
Deniy Shapovalov already belongs to the top 15 in the world and who does he have to play in the 1st round? Against the high-flyer Holger Rune, of all people, who has shocked various top players in recent weeks!
For the Canadian, this French Open could hardly have got off to a more difficult start. Twice a 2nd round, he has no better results to show at Roland Garros. Clear, sovereign victories are rather rare for the bad boy anyway.
In Geneva, he already failed in his opening match against Ilya Ivashka, and as usual in three sets. A few days earlier in Rome, he showed a different face, defeating Rafael Nadal and narrowly losing 6-7, 5-7 to Casper Ruud.
Results like this are typical for Shapovalov, without a third set in the best of two or at least a tiebreak it almost never works. The 23-year-old is regularly eliminated against players who are actually much worse and is not as consistent as he would like to be.
The Canadian has already collected strong results at Grand Slams, but it just doesn’t seem to work out on clay. Since his current opponent is in top form, the bookmakers are also rather sceptical.
With average odds of 1.70 to 2.15 at Betano, Shapovalov is ahead, but the differences are marginal. This is not only due to his changeable performances, but also to how strong Holger Rune is at the moment.
A few weeks ago, not everyone knew the name of the recently turned 19-year-old Dane, but now fans and experts alike know what the super talent has to offer.
After his tournament victory at the BMW Open in Munich, he fell into a small hole in Rome, but has long since recovered from it. In Lyon, he made it to the semi-finals, where he narrowly lost 2-6, 7-5, 4-6 to top seed Cameron Norrie.
For the first time ever, Rune will now play at the French Open, the third time in a row he will play in the main draw of a Grand Slam. In September in New York, he drew Novak Djokovic in Round 1, taking at least one set from him.
At the Australian Open, he was in the middle of a five-set thriller against Soon-woo Kwon, which he unfortunately lost. Now he is much stronger than he was then, and Denis Shapovalov should feel the effects of that.
My Shapovalov Rune Tip
Denis Shapovalov against Holger Rune, and right away in the 1st round! The French Open 2022 will go straight to the wire. The fact that the Canadian is only slightly favoured shows how much the bookmakers think of his young rival.
I can only confirm this impression after my in-depth analysis. Shapovalov is known for close results and often has a hard time against supposed outsiders. Rune is in strong form, plays carefree and cheeky against top players. A quick end to the match? Probably not in this match!
My tip: We’ll see at least four sets!
