2 dark-horse candidates to watch in the men’s draw of the French Open

After being pushed back a week, the French Open is finally set to begin in less than four days, as the tournament kicks off on the 30th.

It is obvious who the favorite is going into the tournament on the men’s side. It is 13-time French Open champion Rafa Nadal. It is his tournament to lose, but there are some players that can make the road to the championship a lot harder. Novak Djokovic, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Alexander Zverev, and Dominic Thiem all have what it takes to beat Nadal and win at the French.

There are also a few players outside the top 20 in the world that I believe can make a deep run in this tournament. They most likely will not win the tournament, but I could see one or two players outside the top 20 making it to the quarterfinals. Here are two players specifically who are outside the top 20 that have a good chance of making a deep run at this year’s French Open.

Albert Ramos-Vinolas

I believe that Ramos-Vinolas has a good chance of making a deep run at the French, as long as he does not have to play Nadal or Djokovic before the quarterfinals. Ramos-Vinolas has been playing on the clay since the beginning of April, and has had a very good clay court season leading up to the French Open.

Ramos-Vinolas has a record of 18-9 so far in 2021, which is rather good for someone ranked 38 in the world. He should feel really good going into the French Open, especially after winning his first title of 2021 and third of his career at the Estoril Open on clay. On his way to the title, he defeated two top 50 players, which included Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the semi-finals, and Cameron Norrie in a tight three setter in the final.

Ramos-Vinolas has had some big wins so far in 2021, most notably when he defeated Diego Schwartzman in the quarterfinals of the ATP 250 event in Cordoba. He also has good wins against world number 36 Adrian Mannarino, and American Taylor Fritz, who is currently ranked 33 in the world rankings.

What Ramos-Vinolas will bring to the French Open is experience, having played the tournament 10 times in his career. He also has had some success at Roland Garros in recent years, making the round of 16 in 2017, and making the quarterfinals back in 2016. I believe that the way he is currently playing on clay, he can make a deep run that closely resembles that 2016 French Open, where he beat two top 25 players on route to the quarters.

Aslan Karatsev

Aslan Karatsev is having the best year of his career. He started the year ranked 112 in the world and was never ranked inside the top 100. He then had an amazing run at the Australian Open, first advancing through the first three rounds of qualifying, then making a deep run all the way to the semi-finals. His ranking then shot up all the way to 42 in the world, a new career high.

Karatsev has proven since then that the Australian Open was definitely not a one off. After losing to Dominic Thiem in Doha, Karatsev went on to win the ATP 500 title in Dubai, taking out Daniel Evans, Lorenzo Sonego, Jannik Sinner, and Andrey Rublev on his way to the title. Karatsev now sits at number 26 in the ATP world rankings.

Karatsev’s clay court season has been up and down so far. He has lost in the round of 32 at a tournament twice, has lost in the round of 16 twice, but has also made the finals of a tournament in Belgrade. That tournament in Belgrade is the one to look at when doubting the possibility of Karatsev making a deep run at the French. In that tournament, Karatsev took out the number one player in the world, Novak Djokovic, in the semi-finals, before losing a very tight three set match to Matteo Berrettini in the finals, losing the final set in a tiebreak.

If that was not enough evidence as to why Karatsev can make a deep run, there are two other big wins he has had on clay this year that prove my point. At the ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Madrid, Karatsev defeated top 10 player Diego Schwartzman, who we all know is incredible on clay. Then in the other Masters 1000 event in Rome, Karatsev beat the number two player in the world, Daniil Medvedev, in straight sets in less than an hour and 20 minutes. Being seeded at the French will certainly help Karatsev in the early rounds, as I believe he will get through the first couple rounds easily on his way to making his second straight quarterfinal appearance at a Grand Slam.