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Roland Garros 2021: Jannik Sinner vs Pierre-Hugues Herbert preview, head-to-head & prediction

Jannik Sinner
Jannik Sinner

Match details

Fixture: (18) Jannik Sinner vs Pierre-Hugues Herbert

Date: 31 May 2021

Tournament: Roland Garros 2021

Round: First round (Round of 128)

Venue: Paris, France

Category: Grand Slam

Surface: Red Clay

Prize money: €17,171,108

Match timing: 11 am local time, 9 am GMT, 5 am EST, 2.30 pm IST

Live telecast: USA - NBC Sports / Tennis Channel | UK - ITV | India - Star Sports / Disney+ Hotstar VIP

Jannik Sinner vs Pierre-Hugues Herbert preview

Jannik Sinner and Pierre-Hughes Herbert will square off on Monday with a spot in the second round of Roland Garros up for grabs.

Sinner made a strong start to the clay season, with a run to the semifinals in Barcelona. His momentum, however, fizzled out soon as the youngster made early exits at the tournaments that followed.

He will now be keen to get back to winning ways, but Herbert is unlikely to make things easy.

Pierre-Hughes Herbert
Pierre-Hughes Herbert

Herbert has endured a tough claycourt season in 2021, and is yet to progress past the second round at any tournament. The Frenchman does, however, have a knack for staging upsets on the big stage.

With wins over the likes of Dominic Thiem, Kei Nishikori and Stefanos Tsitsipas to his name this year, Herbert could well give Sinner something to think about.

Jannik Sinner vs Pierre-Hugues Herbert head-to-head

Jannik Sinner leads Pierre-Hughes Herbert in the head-to-head by a slender 1-0 margin. The Italian took a straight-sets win over his opponent in the duo's only meeting, which came at the Cologne event in 2020.

Jannik Sinner vs Pierre-Hugues Herbert prediction

Jannik Sinner will look to put his recent early exis behind him.
Jannik Sinner will look to put his recent early exis behind him.

His early exits in the lead-up to Roland Garros notwithstanding, Jannik Sinner will enter this first-round contest as the firm favorite on paper.

The youngster has given ample evidence of his abilities on the red dirt already. His quarterfinal showing at last year's French Open marked Sinner's first breakthrough on the Grand Slam stage, and he has notched up claycourt wins over the likes of Andrey Rublev and Roberto Bautista Agut since.

The teenager will step out looking to take control of the match using his powerful groundstrokes, but he will have to watch out for his opponent's solid front court skills. Pierre-Hugues Herbert has been ranked as the world's No. 1 doubles player in the past, and he uses his volleys to good effect on the singles court too.

The Frenchman also enjoys playing at a quick pace, and is unlikely to be intimidated by Sinner's big game.

That said, if Sinner can keep his unforced errors under check and direct a lot of the traffic to the Herbert forehand - his weaker wing - he should be able to eke out a win here.

Prediction: Jannik Sinner to win in four sets.


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