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French Open: 3 unseeded players with the best chance to make the second week

By Brandon Daniels

PARIS, FRANCE - SEPTEMBER 27: Jannik Sinner of Italy celebrates his victory over David Goffin of Belgium in the first round of the men’s singles on Day 1 at Roland Garros on September 27, 2020 in Paris, France. (Photo by TPN/Getty Images)
PARIS, FRANCE - SEPTEMBER 27: Jannik Sinner of Italy celebrates his victory over David Goffin of Belgium in the first round of the men’s singles on Day 1 at Roland Garros on September 27, 2020 in Paris, France. (Photo by TPN/Getty Images) /
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PARIS, FRANCE – OCTOBER 01: Marton Fucsovics of Hungary plays a forehand during his Men’s Singles second round match against Albert Ramos-Vinolas of Spain on day five of the 2020 French Open at Roland Garros on October 01, 2020 in Paris, France. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)
PARIS, FRANCE – OCTOBER 01: Marton Fucsovics of Hungary plays a forehand during his Men’s Singles second round match against Albert Ramos-Vinolas of Spain on day five of the 2020 French Open at Roland Garros on October 01, 2020 in Paris, France. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images) /

2. Marton Fucsovics

Not many expected Fucsovics to et anywhere this week at the French Open, especially considering the fact that he drew 4th-seeded Daniil Medvedev in Round 1. Instead of a drubbing loss, the ATP #63 took to victory in four sets, dropping Medvedev to 0-4 in French Open play in the process.

To be fair, Fucsovics could’ve beaten anyone in Round 1, despite him ever winning a previous match against a top-ten-ranked player in his ten-year career. He looked worlds better than his oppoenent and truly deserved the upset win. He was effective in winning points off of his serve despite having a first serve percentage of 55 for the match (which included six double faults). He also displayed a very effective net game, winning 31 of his 44 tries.

Where Fucsovics shined the most in this win was in his strategic switching of speeds from the baseline. Medvedev became increasingly frustrated once a rally of rocket groundstrokes suddenly became a battle of slices and chips that forced him on his back foot. There have been a good crop of late bloomers on tour (most notable currently being Stan Wawrinka), and who’s to say Fucsovics can’t replicate the same fate?

His journey to doing so has been aided by the fact that only 13th-seeded Andrey Rublev stands in his way to a quarterfinal bid this week in Paris. While he’s an extremely fiery power that has shown flashes of brilliance amidst grueling matches, he’s been dealt a fair share of shocking losses at the hands of lower-ranked players.

Thiago Monteiro is Fucsovics’ 3rd Round opponent and will await the winner of Rublev-Anderson if he does make it through to extend his bestFrench Open result to date.

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