- Rafa Nadal off and running at French Open Tennis with first-round win over Thompson on Monday
- Roland Garros Men’s and Women’s Draws and Schedule for Tuesday, May 24, 2022
- Anisimova Tops Osaka, Parry Dethrones Defending-Champion Krejcikova at Roland Garros
- Carlos Alcaraz kicks off French Open Tennis campaign with straight-set win over Londero
- Ricky’s picks for Day 2 at the French Open Tennis, including Rafa Nadal vs. Thompson
- Upset Sunday: Garbiñe Muguruza, Ons Jabeur Both Fall in Roland Garros Openers
- Roland Garros Men’s and Women’s Draws and Schedule for Monday, May 23, 2022
- Roland Garros Men’s and Women’s Draws and Schedule for Sunday, May 22, 2022
- ATP, WTA Strip Wimbledon of Ranking Points
- Zverev: Stefanos Tsitsipas is Favorite in Bottom Half of Roland Garros Draw
- Roland Garros Men’s and Women’s Draws: Daniil Medvedev, Andrey Rublev in Bottom Quarter
- French Open draw ceremony produces a Djokovic-Nadal quarter, Alcaraz also in top half
- Roland Garros Men’s and Women’s Draws: Osaka vs. Anisimova in First Round
- World No. 2 Barbora Krejcikova Signs with Fila
- The 20-Year Grand Slam Streak of Feliciano Lopez Has Come to an End
Tennis News • Ricky’s Picks For Thursday, Including Tiafoe vs. Nishioka And Khachanov vs. Kohlschreiber
- Updated: May 1, 2019

Frances Tiafoe from the USA in action during his first round martchagainst Mikhail Kukushkin from Kazakhstan at the Estoril Open Tennis tournament in Cascais, near Lisbon, Portugal, 30 April 2019. EPA-EFE/JOSE SENA GOULAO
By Ricky Dimon
Second-round action wraps up in Estoril and Munich on Thursday. Among those in action are Frances Tiafoe, Karen Khachanov, and Philipp Kohlschreiber. Fabio Fognini had been on the Estoril schedule but withdrew.
Ricky previews three of the best matches and makes his predictions.
Estoril: (8) Frances Tiafoe vs. Yoshihito Nishioka
Tiafoe and Nishioka will be squaring off for the second time in their careers and for the first time on the main tour when they battle for a spot in the Estoril Open quarterfinals. Their only previous meeting came in the final of the 2016 Winnetka Challenger, where Nishioka prevailed 6-3, 6-2.
Nishikori has torn an ACL and returned with a vengeance since then, while Tiafoe has been on a steady rise. The 21-year-old American, who up to No. 31 in the world, had reached two ATP finals–including a runner-up showing in Estoril last season to go along with a title in Delray Beach. Tiafoe took care of Mikhail Kukushkin 6-3, 7-5 in round one on Tuesday, while Nishioka downed Makenzie McDonald 6-2, 6-4 on Monday.
Pick: Tiafoe in 3
Munich: Philipp Kohlschreiber vs. (2) Karen Khachanov
Khachanov and Kohlschreiber will be facing each other for the fourth time in their careers in this BMW Open second-round showdown. To say it has been an entertaining head-to-head series–which Kohlschreiber leads 2-1–would be an understatement. Each of their two most recent tilts required a final-set tiebreaker, with Kohlschreiber surviving on both occasions; 3-6, 7-6(1), 7-6(5) indoors in Rotterdam last season and 7-5, 6-7(7), 7-6(6) a few months later in Rome.
Although the rankings may suggest otherwise, Kohlschreiber has to like his chances of making it three straight. Munich is by far the best tournament of the 35-year-old German’s career, as he boasts an incredible 34-11 record following Monday’s victory over Andreas Seppi. Kohlschreiber has won it three times and has also finished runner-up three times–including last spring (lost to Alexander Zverev). Khachanov, meanwhile, is an alarming 7-9 in 2019 and is currently saddled with a four-match losing streak.
Pick: Kohlschreiber in 2
Munich: Denis Kudla vs. Mattero Berrettini
Berrettini had had dropped five matches in succession at the ATP level before capturing the second title of his career last week in Budapest. Up to 37th in the world, the 23-year-old Italian defeated four opponents ranked between No. 33 and No. 74 before scraping past world No. 105 Filip Krajinovic in Sunday’s final.
Surprisingly, Berrettini and Kudla will be meeting for the fifth time in their careers. Kudla leads the head-to-head series 3-1, including 2-0 in main draws. The American prevailed 6-4, 7-5, 6-2 in round one of the 2018 U.S. Open and 2-6, 7-5, 7-5 earlier this year in Dubai. But the story is a different one now, as Berrettini has arrived whereas Kudla is a dreadful 4-10 on the main tour in 2019.
Pick: Berrettini in 2