Jordan Thompson will enter his first round French Open match against the big-serving John Isner as outsider, but the chance of an upset is strong. Join The Roar for live scores from around 12:30am (AEST).
Isner has had a solid build-up to the French Open, but clay is understandably his least favourite surface and he has struggled throughout his career, only just breaking a 50 percent win rate.
Essentially, Isner is the complete opposite of what makes a good clay court player. He is all about power, using his big serve to win a lot of free points and generally bludgeoning his way through things from the baseline, not being the best of movers.
Answering drop shots and being sent running are not strengths of the 205cm tall American. Despite that, this has been his best clay court season with a run to the semi-finals in Rome.
Thompson, on the other hand, is perfectly suited to clay courts because of his ability to stay in points. While his serve won’t cause any problem, he is one of the fastest movers on tour and if he can be consistent, make smart decisions and utilise the drop shot, he will be on top of this match from the outset.
It’s a good match-up for the Aussie on clay. Put them on grass though and it would be a completely different scenario.
Statistically, clay is Thompson’s best surface, yet he has never made it past the second round of any grand slam, which he achieved last year at Roland Garros.
Unfortunately, ever since Thompson’s brilliant win over fellow American Jack Sock in the Davis Cup quarter-finals, it’s been a tough run and he will need an improvement in form to hang with Isner here.
Form is ultimately what leads to the odds favouring Isner to such an extent because Thompson doesn’t have one high-profile scalp to his name since the clay season started – that’s in stark contrast to Isner who has beaten Stan Wawrinka and Marin Cilic.
Despite the form though, this match-up favours Thompson more than maybe any other he is likely to face for the rest of the French Open.
Prediction
Given Isner’s dislike of clay, this is a match-up which really suits Thompson. If Isner can’t nail his serve at least 75 percent of the time, it’s going to be an uphill battle for him, with Thompson’s Hewitt-like energy getting him over the line.
Thompson in five sets.
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