French Open 2024, 1st round, Sunday, 26.05.2024
How high are the hopes of a German victory at the second Grand Slam of the year? Admittedly, whether there is a triumph in black, red and gold will primarily depend on Alexander Zverev.
Dominik Koepfer, as he himself knows, is not one of the favorites. He would still like to get through a round or two, but he was anything but lucky in the draw.
He will face the world number 5! But the fact is that this top star doesn’t like clay at all. In my Koepfer Medvedev tip, I’ll therefore tell you why I think the German is likely to win a set
Dominik Koepfer traveled to Paris as number 67 in the world and of course he knew that he wouldn’t have an easy opponent in the draw. It turned out to be Daniil Medvedev, and he really isn’t a dream candidate!
The German has improved bit by bit over the last few weeks and wants to give the Russian a run for his money. In Lyon, he managed to beat Ugo Humbert and only lost to Tomas Martin Etcheverry in the quarter-finals.
How did he fare at the previous Masters tournaments? In Rome, he managed to beat Frances Tiafoe before losing to Tommy Paul. Before that in Madrid, he was unable to beat Roberto Carballes Baena in the opener
Before the Masters in Rome, Koepfer was eliminated several times in a row in the first round, from which he seems to have recovered somewhat. What about the French Open, does he like competing here in Paris?
He only competed in the main draw in 2020 and 2021, once in the 2nd and once in the 3rd round. Or to put it another way: whenever Koepfer can be seen outside of qualifying, he also made it further at the start!
He will therefore certainly be able to cope with the fact that our bookmakers are against a win on Sunday. Those who still want to take this risk will be rewarded with odds of 4.50, not only at Bet365.
Daniil Medvedev naturally has significantly lower odds, with an average of 1.15 to be expected. The two have already played each other three times, with the Russian winning all three matches.
The last time they met was at the Masters in Miami, where the two sets were very different with Medvedev winning 7-6, 6-0. And so it is that the world number 5 knows: “If I lose, it will be an embarrassment.
Daniil Medvedev and the red clay – as tennis fans, you will know that this combination is usually not the best. He much prefers hard court and grass, but now at the French Open he has to go through it
A year ago, he failed disgracefully here against Thiago Seyboth Wild, and only once, three years ago, did he reach the round of the best eight in the French capital.
In Rome, just before his trip to Paris, he didn’t exactly play like a star either, losing outright to Tommy Paul after narrow victories against Jack Draper and Hamad Mededovic.
His best result on clay this year was a quarter-final when he was forced to retire in Madrid against Jiri Lehecka. As you know Medvedev: If he’s not in the mood for a match or the surface, he often seems a bit listless
My Koepfer Medvedev tip
Of course, the draw could have provided Dominik Koepfer with a much easier opponent than Daniil Medvedev, against whom he has lost all three of his previous matches, most recently in Miami.
However, word has long since gotten around in the tennis world that Medvedev is a bit of a powder keg on clay. That’s why I can’t imagine that we’ll see an absolutely flawless performance on Sunday.
As a result, I think the German at least has a chance of making the match as open as possible. So my tip is:
Koepfer takes his set against Medvedev!
