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Match details
Fixture: (18) Jannik Sinner vs Pierre-Hugues Herbert
Date: 31 May 2021
Tournament: Roland Garros 2021
Round: First round (Round of 128)
Venue: Paris, France
Category: Grand Slam
Surface: Red Clay
Prize money: €17,171,108
Match timing: 11 am local time, 9 am GMT, 5 am EST, 2.30 pm IST
Live telecast: USA - NBC Sports / Tennis Channel | UK - ITV | India - Star Sports / Disney+ Hotstar VIP
Jannik Sinner vs Pierre-Hugues Herbert preview
Jannik Sinner and Pierre-Hughes Herbert will square off on Monday with a spot in the second round of Roland Garros up for grabs.
Sinner made a strong start to the clay season, with a run to the semifinals in Barcelona. His momentum, however, fizzled out soon as the youngster made early exits at the tournaments that followed.
He will now be keen to get back to winning ways, but Herbert is unlikely to make things easy.
Herbert has endured a tough claycourt season in 2021, and is yet to progress past the second round at any tournament. The Frenchman does, however, have a knack for staging upsets on the big stage.
With wins over the likes of Dominic Thiem, Kei Nishikori and Stefanos Tsitsipas to his name this year, Herbert could well give Sinner something to think about.
Jannik Sinner vs Pierre-Hugues Herbert head-to-head
Jannik Sinner leads Pierre-Hughes Herbert in the head-to-head by a slender 1-0 margin. The Italian took a straight-sets win over his opponent in the duo's only meeting, which came at the Cologne event in 2020.
Jannik Sinner vs Pierre-Hugues Herbert prediction
His early exits in the lead-up to Roland Garros notwithstanding, Jannik Sinner will enter this first-round contest as the firm favorite on paper.
The youngster has given ample evidence of his abilities on the red dirt already. His quarterfinal showing at last year's French Open marked Sinner's first breakthrough on the Grand Slam stage, and he has notched up claycourt wins over the likes of Andrey Rublev and Roberto Bautista Agut since.
The teenager will step out looking to take control of the match using his powerful groundstrokes, but he will have to watch out for his opponent's solid front court skills. Pierre-Hugues Herbert has been ranked as the world's No. 1 doubles player in the past, and he uses his volleys to good effect on the singles court too.
The Frenchman also enjoys playing at a quick pace, and is unlikely to be intimidated by Sinner's big game.
That said, if Sinner can keep his unforced errors under check and direct a lot of the traffic to the Herbert forehand - his weaker wing - he should be able to eke out a win here.
Prediction: Jannik Sinner to win in four sets.
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