French Open R2 previews and picks: Nadal vs. Thiem, Murray vs. Matosevic

Ricky Dimon's avatarThe Grandstand

Rafa 3Rafael Nadal’s French Open fortnight will heat up on Thursday with an intriguing second-round contest against Dominic Thiem. Andy Murray and Marinko Matosevic are also looking for a place in the last 32.

(1) Rafael Nadal vs. Dominic Thiem

Heading into this season, neither fans nor players–at least not the majority–could have been familiar with Thiem. Fast forward five months and the 20-year-old Austrian has made a major name for himself. He will have his biggest opportunity yet to make headlines when performs on Court Philippe Chatrier during second-round action at the French Open on Thursday. Thiem, who started 2014 at No. 139 in the world and is now 57th, earned his 11th main-draw match win of the season with a 6-4, 7-6(3), 6-2 defeat of Paul-Henri Mathieu.

What is without question an opportunity for Thiem is also–undoubtedly–a terrible second-round draw. Nadal is 60-1 lifetime at Roland Garros, is the…

View original post 310 more words

Leave a comment