Simon Dalton presents his prediction for the ATP Roland Garros match.
After a laboured first-round win over Roberto Bautista Agut, Holger Rune needs to prove he can still navigate the early rounds of a Grand Slam tournament. His second-round clash with Emilio Nava offers a good opportunity to bounce back from a nervy opening performance. For the American, simply reaching the second round of a major represents a success. However, Emilio Nava has been performing well on clay, and Holger Rune is unlikely to find this match straightforward.
Emilio Nava
The American opened the tournament with a confident win over Luis Patiño. Despite the comfortable victory, Nava struggled on his second serve, winning only 49% of those points. That said, he is a typical clay-court specialist, having played 39 matches on the surface in 2025 and winning 30 of them—albeit mostly at Challenger-level tournaments. He already holds three titles this season.
Holger Rune
The world No. 10 made a poor start against Roberto Bautista Agut, dropping the opening set, but recovered well to take the next three sets convincingly (6:7, 6:4, 6:3, 6:2). Rune committed 45 unforced errors, but compensated with an impressive 63 winners, compared to 45 from his opponent. While he won the clay-court tournament in Barcelona, he was eliminated in the second round at four other Masters events this season. He previously faced Emilio Nava in 2021 and even then dropped a set to the American (6:7, 6:1, 6:4).
Emilio Nava vs Holger Rune Prediction
Emilio Nava has delivered solid results on clay this year. Holger Rune is clearly the higher-ranked player, but his season has been inconsistent, mixing strong performances with notable setbacks. The American is likely to put up a fight against the world No. 10.
