French Open Picks Predictions

I will be going over the sixteen different quarters at this year's French Open. I will attempt to try and predict what happens, although my prediction skills aren't great.

Men's
Section 1-Djokovic's Quarter
I don't think anyone here can beat Djokovic over five sets. I think, quite simply, Djokovic will play a tight match against Goffin but come through and will then play Dimi in the third round. I think it's good Tomic is even here what with all the ugliness his father put him through. I don't think Dolgopolov is consistent enough to do much here. He could turn it on but in the end I think Djokovic will defeat Kohlschreiber in four. Back in 2009 at Roland Garros, the German beat Djokovic in straight sets and I think he will push Djokovic again in that fourth round.

QF: Djokovic

Section 2-The Open one
Tipsarevic is in a huge slump. He has Mahut in the first round and Verdasco in the second round. He will be out of this tournament very quickly. Youzhny is also very much out of form. I think Andujar will beat Verdasco in the third round. Up the top, it is much simpler to pick what will happen. Also, seeing whether Harrison will be able to win a match now that he hasn't been given a horror draw at a slam will be interesting. Garcia Lopez is also hanging around and will play Haas in the second round if he can beat Sock. In the end, though, Haas will come through there to face Isner in the third round. Haas should then beat Andujar in four for a quarterfinal berth. This really is Haas' quarter to lose.

QF: Haas

Section 3- The Closed One
Brands is a good player. He should be able to compete with Nadal in this match. He won't be blown away too easily. Rosol is also drawn in Nadal's section, but the chances of that upset happening again are quite small. Paire against Baghdatis is going to be fantastic, whilst Levine versus Nishikori should also be good. Zemlja/Giraldo is also a great first round match. I think Nadal will thrash Fognini in the third round whilst Paire upsets Nishikori. After that, Nadal will be tested by Paire and it could be a potential banana skin, but Nadal in four tight sets I think.

QF: Rosol Nadal

Section 4-The One with all the talent
Up the top we have an interesting clash right off the bat. Ramos and Janowicz will play in the opening round and I think it will be a fantastic match. I think Janowicz will just about edge him there. Haase and Zeballos are also here. I think Wawrinka should beat de Bakker but he will be tested by Zeballos. Janowicz/Wawrinka is a very tough match to call. It will be on a big showcourt and the rallies will be tremendous. I think Wawrinka can really exploit the Janowicz backhand and he should be able to get a few of the droppers, too. Mayer is seriously out of form. I think Davydenko will actually make the third round here. Gasquet has an easy first few rounds and he should make the fourth easily beating Davydenko in the third round on his way. I think Gasquet/Wawrinka will be a hell of a match. Gasquet leads the head to head 1-0 but that match was seven years ago on hard courts. I think I'll go Gasquet in four because he will have an easier third round than Wawrinka.

QF: Gasquet

Section 5-The one where Berdych gets appalling luck
Berdych drew Monfils, a recent Nice finalist who is hitting form. Can he beat Monfils? Yes he can. He has a 3-0 record against the Frenchman. Will it be straightforward? No. I think it will be a long brutal match and Berdych will eventually prevail. After that, he will probably get Gulbis who beat him at Wimby last year. I think Gulbis will beat him. I think Gulbis will also edge Robredo here. Sijsling/Melzer will be an interesting match to watch, as well. In the other but of this quarter, Almagro will play Seppi in the third round. Almagro has been out of form but he brings his best tennis to Roland Garros. He should beat Seppi in four then play Gulbis in the fourth round. I think Gulbis is going to beat him. He is due a big run and I think it will be here.

QF: Gulbis

Section 6-The one with the easy draw
Anything could happen up top here. Malisse could beat a slightly slumping Raonic, or maybe Darics does well. Llodra could put together a run here or Anderson might shine. I think the latter is most likely. I think Anderson will beat Raonic in the third round. In the other bit, Ferrer may get recent Nice titlist Montanes in the second round but he should win in four. Nobody in this section can beat Ferrer. He will get Granollers in the third round and he will win comprehensively like last year at the French. Ferrer will beat Anderson in the fourth.

QF: Ferrer

Section 7 -The one with the home-grown players
Tsonga is the big seed here and he starts off against Bedene, which could be tricky. Afterwards he gets Mathieu or Nieminen, both of which will be very hard matches. Chardy looms in the third round or possibly Agut. Either way, it isn't an easy draw but I think we can pencil in Tsonga's name in that fourth round slot. Cilic is out of form and Monaco has been quite inconsistent of late. However, I think that Monaco will edge Blake and should beat Cilic in that third round. Kyrgios the young talent is also here. Afer that, I actually think Monaco will upset Tsonga here and surprisingly advance to a quarterfinal. I am probably wrong but I get the feeling Monaco could do it.

QF: Monaco

Section 8-The one with Federer
At the top, Simon has already come back from two sets down to beat Hewitt -I forgot the French starts on a Dimanche- and I don't think anyone can really beat Simon here, so I think he'll beat Querrey on his way to the fourth round. Federer will thrash Busta, beat the qualy he has to play in the second round quite easily, too, and beat Berankis before giving Simon another thrashing like the one he gave him in Rome. I think there will be a few bagels here. Or at the very least baguettes.

QF: Federer

Quaters One and Two
Djokovic [1] d. [12] Haas, Nadal [3] d. [7] Gasquet

I think Djokovic will be too good for Haas, who did beat him earlier this year in straights. I think he will grind out Haas and in the end he should come through in four. I think he can really attack the Germans serve and I think he can keep him deep. He will also be able to stop the German playing his game.

Nadal will just hit his forehand to the Gasquet forehand all day. He will break it down and grind it into the red dust. Gasquet has a good but underrated serve, an average forehand and one of the best backhands on the tour, so Nadal will just bully that forehand. I expect Gasquet not to go away though and to challenge Nadal throughout. Gasquet has developed more fight and more mental fortitude over the past year and I think Nadal will win in three tight sets. Gasquet will still have the shot of the day, though, and in the end that matters to him a lot.

Quarters Three and Four
Ferrer [4] d. Gulbis, Federer [2] d. [17] Monaco

Ferrer will have too much consistency. That is simply where the match will be won. Sheer consistency should do for Gulbis in the end. Gulbis will have the shot of the day here, too. I just think Ferrer is too much like a wall for Gulbis to break down.

Federer is going to overwhelm Monaco here. He just has too much for him. I think Fed will win in three straight sets here, one of which might be close.

Semi-Finals
Djokovic [1] d. [3] Nadal, Federer [2] d. [4] Ferrer

I think Djokovic will beat Nadal. Nadal has a match-up problem here. I honestly think that after watching that Monte Carlo final and watching their rivalry over the years Djokovic has the edge. Nadal can't just hit crosscourt to Novak's backhand and his above average serve is easy pickings for Djokovic, too. This is the changing of the guard for me. Roland Garros seems to be Nadal's last bastion against Djokovic. I think Djokovic in five epic sets in a match lasting at least 4 and a half hours, too.

Ferrer should be able to take this to four, but he is something like 0-14 against Federer and has only taken a set on a handful of occasions. This is much more straightforward and I think Fed should come through with not too much bother.

Final
Djokovic [1] v. [2] Federer

Heart says Fed and head says Djokovic. I think Djokovic will win in five here. I just think he is too physical for Roger. I think he can nullify Fed's serve and stay with him in the rallies, as well. If Fed brings his A-game and Djokovic doesn't fully turn up, then I think Fed can win but for me Djokovic completes his grand slam here.

Women's
Section 1- The one with Serena in it
Serena will beat Garcia in the second and Bertens in the third to come through. Probably with lots of baking related tennis terms, too. I think A-Pavs can beat Vinci and should test Serena in the fourth. Voskoboeva is here, as is Cetkovska. This is quite simple really. Serena def A-pavs 7-5, 6-1 or similar.

QF: Serena

Section 2-The other won with all the talent
Wozniacki will lose to Robson I think. If she wins then she gets Makarova or Kuznetsova. Whoever wins the Russian derby makes the quarters I think. Kuznetsova beat Makarova this year in Miami in straight sets and clay is her best surface. She also has the best winning percentage here at RG along with Supernova. I think she will win in straight sets here, too. Kuznetsova will beat Strycova in the third round and then in the fourth round she will play Kerber. Kerber has been injured and is out of form. I think she will grind her way to the fourth round here and then fall to Kuznetsova

QF: Kuznetsova

Section 3- The other one that's open
Radwanska is so out of form I wouldn't be surprised if Peer beat her. In any case, I think Burdette will win a Bannerette derby against Venus here in the third round to reach her maiden fourth round. Ivanovic will beat Goerges and Scheepers to reach the fourth then beat Burdette. Also here is Razzano and the younger Radwanska. I think Ivanovic is a dark horse to win this tournament.

QF: Ivanovic

Section 4-The one with the young guns
Petrova/Suarez Navaro is a bumper clash. Halep and Keys are both here but I think it will come down to Petrova /CSN and I think CSN is in the form of her life. Plus she has been to the quarters at RG before. I think Errani will have too much for Lisicki in the third round. And I think CSN will beat Errani here like she did in Australia. I know it's clay but I think Navaro has more game then Errani. Errani has a very one dimensional game but Navarro has a lot of dimensions and that could make the difference here. However, I think Errani survives.

QF: Errani

Section 5-The international departure lounge
In this section we have Portugal, Australia, Spain, Russia, Kazahkstan and Argentina to name but a few. Barty is here, Kanepi is too and so is Vandeweghe. Li has landed Garrigues and probably a streaking Mattek in the second, too. She should survive and she should edge Shvedova in the third round, though she lost to her last year here. Kirilenko should edge Kanepi in the third round in a tight contest as well. I think Li Na should be able to beat Kirilenko in the fourth round to move through to a quarterfinal, though of course Li's berth is not assured.

QF: Li Na/Na Li

Section 6- The one with the forgotten Italians
Bartoli has been gifted with an easy draw here. She should make it through to the fourth round no problem. Schiavone could play Pennetta in the second round and I hope they do play because that would be an interesting match. I think after her success in Brussels, Pennetta will win through to the third round but she will lose to Bartoli there in three tight sets.

Azarenka will beat Cornet in the third despite the attentions of Begu and Vesnina. I think she will beat the top two French women back to back here. I think she may even rout Bartoli, but I hope not. Either way Azarenka here.

QF: Azarenka

Section 7 -The one with the 2011 slam winners and a former number one
Kvitova has a tricky test in Rezai who may beat here. If not, then Peng will prove a stern test. I think Kvitova will come through just barely and then play Hampton in the third. Anything could happen here. Wickmayer is also here. It is hard ot pick but I think Kvitova is somehow the safe pick.

Stosur is happy she is in a section that makes her look like Bjorn Borg mentally. She should beat Krumm and Davis, too. I think Muguruza will upset Jankovic then lose to Stosur. I think Stosur will then beat Kvitova to make the quarters. Hantuchova/Jankovic in the first round is a must watch.

QF: Stosur

Section 8-The one with the defending champion
Cibulkova is a lock for the fourth round here. King may do well here, Stephens may win a couple of matches but it's Cibulkova I think who will make the fourth.

On clay, none of the players can even come close to Pova here. She will not drop a set and there will be some big scorelines here, too.

QF: Sharapova

Quaters One and Two
Serena [1] d. Kuznetsova, Ivanovic [14] d. [5] Errani

This is it. If Serena beats Kuznetsova she wins Roland Garros. This is the match where she has a wobble. There is always one and I think this will be it. Back in 2009 Sveta won an epic quarter against Serena here. She can do it again, but will she? I don't think so. Not quite. Serena in three.

I think Ivanovic will channel her old spirit and make a big run at a slam once more. It will push here into the top ten, too. I think she is a better player than Errani but only if she can turn up.

Quarters Three and Four
Li Na/Na Li [6] d. [3] Azarenka, Sharapova [2] d. [9] Stosur

I think on clay against a rusty Azarenka, Li Na will come up with the goods. I think that she has the kind of game that can beat Azarenka. I think her return and movement are quite good. She is also an offensive powerhouse. I think she will deliver and make her second semifinal at RG in three years.

Sharapova/Stosur is a bad match-up for the Aussie. I think that she struggles against the Russian and I think that although this will be tight Sharapova will come through in two straight sets.

Semi-Finals
Serena [1] d. [14] Ivanovic, Sharapova [2] d. [6] Li/Na

Serena may crush Ivanovic but I hope the Serb can make it go to three sets. I can only see a Serena victory here.

I know that Li Na thrashed Sharapova at the Aussie at this stage and in 2011, but this time Maria should have too much for the Chinese woman here. I think she will play how she did in the Stuttgart final.

Final
Serena [1] d. [2] Sharapova

Rather self-explanatory this one I feel.

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