'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,/9j/2wBDAAYEBQYFBAYGBQYHBwYIChAKCgkJChQODwwQFxQYGBcUFhYaHSUfGhsjHBYWICwgIyYnKSopGR8tMC0oMCUoKSj/2wBDAQcHBwoIChMKChMoGhYaKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCj/wgARCAAGAAoDASIAAhEBAxEB/8QAFQABAQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABQb/2gAIAQEAAAAAkif/xAAUAQEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAC/9oACAECEAAAAB//xAAUAQEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAE/9oACAEDEAAAAE//xAAgEAACAgEDBQAAAAAAAAAAAAACAwEFBAARIgYUMTTC/9oACAEBAAE/AFopLquwibiyAY3ITFIichBSEAWxeN9N6bpUtNff2XCZH1lT9a//xAAXEQADAQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAREy/9oACAECAQE/AFqH/8QAGREBAAIDAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAgABA3Gy/9oACAEDAQE/AGKvGVrkz//Z'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
-
Tomas Berdych Vs Radek Stepanek
Court 1 will witness a Czech battle as Tomas Berdych takes on Radek Stepanek in the second round. Berdych is having a terrific year having reached the quarterfinal stage or better in every tournament he has played thus far. Stepanek on the other hand lost to Roberto Bautista Agut in the second round of Munich Open and has an uphill task ahead of him against his younger compatriot. They are Davis cup teammates and know each other’s game inside out.
Berdych’s serve looked extremely good in his opening match against Yoshihito Nishioka and the 29-year-old will back himself to oust Stepanek without dropping a set. Berdych leads their head-to-head 2-1, but this is their first matchup in a Grand Slam.
Match Time: 6 p.m IST.
-
Kei Nishikori Vs Thomaz Bellucci
After defending his title in Barcelona, Kei Nishikori reached the semifinals (lost to Andy Murray) and quarterfinals (lost to Novak Djokovic) in Madrid and Rome respectively. Thomas Bellucci is coming into the French Open on a high after winning the Geneva Open (beat Joao Sousa). The Brazilian was impressive in his straight sets win over Marinko Matosevic in the first round here as well.
Nishikori has the arsenal to negate any tactics that Bellucci tries to adopt to overcome the World No. 5. Bellucci has won their only match so far, but that was eight years ago in Bologna.
It will be an intriguing match and might go to 4 sets with the No. 5 seed coming out on top.
Match Time: Around 4 p.m IST.
-
Dominic Thiem Vs Pablo Cuevas
Dominic Thiem is won the Nice Open in a tight final against Leonardo Mayer and will start as the favorite in his match against Pablo Cuevas. The Uruguayan lost in the finals of Istanbul Open to Roger Federer and lost to the Swiss maestro again in the second round in Rome.
Cuevas likes to stick to the baseline, while Thiem looks to vary it a bit by approaching the net more often than not. There might be a couple of tie breaks in this match, but Thiem will emerge victorious in this contest. This is their first meeting on the ATP tour.
Match Time: Around 4 p.m IST.
