TennisSection previews the 2021 French Open as Casper Ruud (15) meets Benoit Paire in the First Round on Monday May 31st, 2021.
Will the home crowd inspire Frenchman Benoit Paire to turn his miserable season around? Or will he suffer yet another defeat here at the 2021 French Open. His opponent Casper Ruud is one of the most in-form clay court players in the world at the moment, and will be expecting a deep run here at Roland Garros 2021. Will he cruise to victory as expected, or will the talented yet temperamental Paire roll back the clock and produce the stunning upset?
Casper Ruud is currently ranked a career-high #16 in the ATP world rankings, and is seeded fifteenth here at the 2021 French Open. The Norwegian has had an outstanding season so far this year, and enters Roland Garros 2021 as a dark horse candidate for the title. After struggling to begin the year with loss of form and injuries, he has been spectacular of late, reaching back to back Masters-1000 Semi-Finals in Monte-Carlo and Madrid, and claiming the title in Geneva. An argument can be made that he has been the most consistent performer on this surface this season, and enters this match as the heavy favorite against the unpredictable Benoit Paire.
Benoit Paire is ranked #40 in the world, and is unseeded here at the 2021 French Open. The Frenchman has had a disastrous season so far, and has come under intense scrutiny for his poor attitude and lack of effort during matches. While he has been ranked in the top 20 before and is an extremely talented player, one has to wonder if he is even motivated to play tennis anymore, other than collecting paychecks. When he is in form he can hang with the very best, but unfortunately we have not seen anything even remotely close to his best in over a year. Despite him having home-court advantage, he enters this match against Casper Ruud as the massive underdog, and all signs point towards an early exit for him here at Roland Garros 2021.
This will be the second time that the two players have faced each other on the ATP Tour, with Casper Ruud leading the head to head 1-0. The played in 2020 in Hamburg, with the Norwegian star winning on clay there. This is an easy match to call, with all signs pointing to a comfortable win for Casper Ruud. Benoit Paire is capable of some fantastic tennis, but his attitude and effort levels are always huge question marks, and it is very unlikely that he will be able to make much noise here. Casper Ruud is in sublime form and seems ready to make his mark here at the 2021 French Open. I expect the Norwegian to cruise to victory here, advancing to the Second Round here at Roland Garros.
Free Tennis Pick and Prediction: Casper Ruud to win
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