The French Open 2021 draw has brought with it some exciting potential matchups. There are a lot of heavyweights in the draw and some of them are vulnerable to an early exit.

So, here are some of the bold predictions for this year’s Roland Garros.

Serena Williams ousted before the quarterfinals of French Open 2021

Serena’s eighth seed position has put her on a collision course with World No.4 Aryna Sabalenka at the quarterfinals. However, there is a chance the American is ousted from the tournament before reaching that stage. The last time Serena reached the quarterfinals, at least, in Paris was in 2016; since then, her best finish has been the fourth round.

In recent years, Serena has been susceptible to losing to lower-ranked players, especially at Roland Garros. It is in Paris that she suffered her one and only first-round loss at a Grand Slam back in 2012 when a World No. 111 Virginie Razzano defeated her. Moreover, in 2014, 35th ranked Garbine Muguruza defeated her in the second round.

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In the 2021 clay-court season, Serena has only played three matches, and she lost in two of them. Given her low match practice, Serena could be very inconsistent at Roland Garros.

“Unless She Changes Something…”: Tennis Legend Puts Out Grim French Open 2021 Forecast for Serena Williams

Naomi Osaka and Daniil Medvedev are out before the second week

Both Osaka and Medvedev are ranked second in the WTA and ATP rankings, respectively. Moreover, they both are yet to win a clay-court title, and their record at the French Open is bad. Osaka and Medvedev are very good on the hard court, which is evident from their rankings. However, their numbers are unsatisfactory on clay.

Osaka’s win percentage on clay is 56%, lower than her overall percentage of 67%. Whereas Medvedev’s win percentage is much lower at 35.5% on clay against his overall of 66%. While Osaka has never gone past the third round of Roland Garros, Medvedev is yet to win even a single match.

Osaka will play Patricia Maria Tig in the first round. And although Osaka leads the head-to-head, she could face troubles. Then, Osaka could face 33rd seed Paula Badosa in the third round as well.

Medvedev has Alexander Bublik to deal with in the first round and has tricky opponents such as Reilly Opelka, Cristian Garin, Grigor Dimitrov in the following matches.

Andrey Rublev defeats Rafael Nadal in the quarterfinals

This prediction will turn heads as Rafael Nadal has lost only twice at Roland Garros. He is a four-time defending champion and overall a 14-time champ in Paris. But as he gets older, his intensity on the clay courts of Paris will decrease and pave way for new champions. And this year, it could be Rublev.

Rublev has shown that he can beat Nadal on clay. The Russian stunned Nadal in the quarterfinals of Monte Carlo Masters this year, and hence, possesses the ability to do that at Roland Garros. Since Nadal’s draw is a bit tough early on, he could get tired before the quarterfinals.

He might play the likes of Richard Gasquet, Lorenzo Sonega, and Jannik Sinner who can stretch the Spaniard before his slated clash against Rublev in the quarterfinal.

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Nadal has shown inconsistency in the lead-up to French Open 2021. Although he won the Italian Open 2021, if he has a bad day, Rublev is capable to take the opportunity to surprise the tennis world.