French Open 2023: Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Jiri Vesely preview, head-to-head, prediction, odds, and pick
Match Details
Fixture: (5) Stefanos Tsitsipas vs (PR) Jiri Vesely.
Tournament: French Open 2023.
Round: First round (Round of 128).
Venue: Paris, France.
Category: Grand Slam.
Date: 28 May 2023.
Surface: Outdoor clay.
Prize money: €49,600,000
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel, NBC Sports, Peacock TV | Canada - TSN | UK - Eurosport | India - Sony Ten.
Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Jiri Vesely preview
Fifth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas will take on Jiri Vesely in the first round of the French Open.
Tsitsipas has won 27 out of 35 matches so far during the 2023 season, most notably reaching the final of the Australian Open. He came out on top in 13 out of 17 matches during the clay-court season, with his longest run coming at the Barcelona Open, where he made it to the final before losing to Carlos Alcaraz.
Tsitsipas last competed at the Italian Open and reached the semifinals of the tournament with wins over Nuno Borges, Lorenzo Sonego, Lorenzo Musetti, and Borna Coric. Here, he lost 7-5, 7-5, to eventual champion Daniil Medvedev.
Vesely hasn't made any prior tour-level appearances during the 2023 season. He had to wait until April to make his first appearance of the year. The 29-year-old started at a Challenger tournament in Ostrava and reached the quarterfinals before losing 6-7(5), 6-3, 6-4 to Riccardo Bonadio.
He then entered another challenger tournament, this time in Prague, but lost 6-4, 7-5, to Spain's Pablo Llamas Ruiz. The Czech will make his 11th consecutive appearance at the French Open, with his best performance being reaching the third round in 2017.
Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Jiri Vesely head-to-head
The head-to-head between the two currently stands at 0-0, as they haven't locked horns before.
Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Jiri Vesely odds
All odds are sourced by BETMGM.
Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Jiri Vesely prediction
Tsitsipas will enter the match as the overwhelming favorite to win, given his quality on clay and recent performances. The Greek has a solid baseline game, with his one-handed backhand being his biggest weapon. He also has a pretty effective serve and forehand and will look to make the most of them.
Tsitsipas accumulated a lot more winners compared to unforced errors during the Italian Open (106-55) and will be eager to maintain that during the French Open as well.
Vesely's serve is a crucial weapon, and he will look to dominate his service games while looking for the odd decisive break. The Czech will have to be as aggressive as he can in order to stand a chance against a player of Tsitsipas' quality.
Unless the Greek has an unbelievably off day, he should be able to get the better of Vesely without much trouble.
Pick: Tsitsipas to win in straight sets.