Simon Dalton presents his prediction for the ATP Roland Garros match.
Karen Khachanov returns to Roland Garros looking to rebound from last year’s disappointing second-round defeat, when he squandered a two-set lead against Jozef Kovalik. Despite that setback, Karen Khachanov has a strong track record in the opening rounds in Paris—he has not lost a first-round match at the French Open since 2018. His opponent, Aleksandar Vukic, has consistently struggled on clay and has rarely delivered convincing performances on the surface. This opening-round matchup presents an ideal opportunity for Karen Khachanov to settle in and build momentum without undue resistance.
Karen Khachanov
Karen Khachanov comes into the tournament following a solid clay-court campaign, winning seven of his 12 matches and reaching at least the second round in four of the five events he played. In Geneva, he fell to Sebastian Ofner, but it was clear he was conserving energy ahead of Roland Garros. Paris has often brought out his best—he has won all seven of his first-round matches at the tournament, five of them in straight sets.
Aleksandar Vukic
In contrast, Aleksandar Vukic has shown little promise on clay. Since late March, he has suffered opening-round eliminations in five of seven tournaments. His losses have come not only against players ranked inside the top 100 but also against significantly lower-ranked opponents such as Andrea Pellegrino, Pierre-Hugues Herbert, and Lloyd Harris. Particularly telling was Vukic’s loss in Hamburg qualifying, where he was beaten by Dimitar Kuzmanov, managing to win just six games and landing only 55% of his first serves.
Karen Khachanov vs Aleksandar Vukic Prediction
In a best-of-five format, Aleksandar Vukic lacks the consistency and clay-court aptitude to pose a serious challenge. Karen Khachanov is the better all-round player, more comfortable on this surface, and enters the event in good form. He is expected to win convincingly, covering a margin of at least seven games en route to the second round.
