Tennis at Paris Olympics 2024 Day 4: Men's singles predictions ft. Daniil Medvedev vs Sebastian Ofner, Alexander Zverev vs Tomas Machac
Day 4 of the Paris Olympics 2024 will see the completion of the men's singles second-round matches in tennis on Tuesday, July 30. Novak Djokovic brought an end to Rafael Nadal's campaign with a 6-1, 6-4 win over him on Monday.
Carlos Alcaraz survived a late charge from Tallon Griekspoor to beat him 6-1, 7-6 (3) and reach the third round. Stefanos Tsitsipas and Casper Ruud, both former finalists at Roland Garros, were among the other players to reach the third round.
More players will aim to advance to that stage on Tuesday. On that note, here's a look at the predictions for some of the important matches set for Day 4 of the Paris Olympics:
#1 - Daniil Medvedev vs Sebastian Ofner
Medvedev commenced his Paris Olympics campaign with a comfortable 6-2, 6-1 victory over Australia's Rinky Hijikata. Ofner, meanwhile, beat Dutch veteran Robin Hasse 7-5, 6-2 in his opener, and snapped his four-match losing streak.
Ofner's current record on clay stands at 6-12, and he previously reached the third round of the French Open a few weeks ago. Medvedev improved to 10-4 on the red dirt with his latest win, and he made the fourth round of the claycourt Major this year.
While Medvedev isn't as consistent on clay compared to hardcourts, he will still be backed to beat Ofner. The latter's career win-loss record stands at 40-50, while the Russian has won 34 matches this year itself. The Austrian is also 0-10 against top-10 opposition, further minimizing his odds of winning.
Predicted winner: Daniil Medvedev
#2 - Stan Wawrinka vs Alexei Popyrin
Wawrinka, contesting his third Olympics, handed Pavel Kotov a 6-1, 6-1 beatdown in the first round. It marked his fifth win of the season. Popyrin, meanwhile, secured a 6-3, 7-6 (5) win over Chile's Nicolas Jarry.
Wawrinka is a former French Open champion, winning the title back in 2015 over Djokovic in the final. He also finished as the runner-up at the venue in 2017. Popyrin made the second round of Roland Garros on his debut in 2019 and has since lost in the first round every year. He has now broken the trend with his first-round win.
This will be the second career meeting between the two, with Popyrin having won their previous encounter in the final of last year's Croatia Open in three sets. The Australian has been in better form this season compared to Wawrinka. As such, he will have a slight edge to win this contest, though given his record at the venue, an exit from the Paris Olympics is possible as well.
Predicted winner: Alexei Popyrin
#3 - Lorenzo Musetti vs Mariano Navone
Musetti has been in fine form over the last few weeks. He had an amazing grass swing, which culminated in his maiden Major semifinal at Wimbledon. He also reached the final of the Croatia Open after that. He began his Paris Olympics run with a 6-1, 6-4 win over France's Gael Monfils.
Navone made a winning debut at the Olympics as he beat Nuno Borges 6-2, 6-2 in his opener. All 15 of his wins this year have been on clay, and he reached a couple of finals on the surface as well.
However, Navone couldn't perform at a high level when it came to the biggest tournaments on clay, losing in the second round of the Madrid Open, the Italian Open, and the French Open.
Musetti has reached the fourth round of Roland Garros twice in the past. His recent consistency also makes him the favorite to gain the upper hand in this encounter.
Predicted winner: Lorenzo Musetti
#4 - Alexander Zverev vs Tomas Machac
Zverev began his quest for a second consecutive gold medal with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Jaume Munar in the first round of the Paris Olympics. Machac beat Zhang Zhizhen 6-2, 4-6, 6-2 in his opening-round match.
Machac upset World No. 1 Djokovic en route to the final of the Geneva Open a couple of months ago. He also pushed Medvedev to five sets at the French Open before losing to him in the third round.
However, Zverev has performed quite well this season. He finished as the runner-up at the French Open, won the Italian Open, and recently reached the final of the Hamburg European Open as well. His 21-5 record on clay this year is more impressive compared to Machac's 9-4 record. The German will be expected to continue his title defense here based on his form.
Predicted winner: Alexander Zverev