Men’s Singles, Women’s Singles and #furthestaussie

The years second, and dirtiest, grand slam is officially underway Sunday night at 7pm AEDT. Roland Garros can certainly lay claim to being the most unique and eccentric major, with umpires sprinting down from chairs to check ball marks and the famous red clay adorning most pieces of clothing by match end. On the men’s side, Rafael Nadal seeks to claim a 12th title in Paris. On the women’s side, Simona Halep looks to defend her first grand slam victory with another, and reclaim her spot atop the WTA rankings as well. Don’t forget to enter our competition to win fantastic Solinco prizes! Head to our instagram or facebook and comment your pick for the men’s and women’s singles, as well as your tip for the Australian that will go furthest.

Men’s Singles

First Quarter

The standout name in the first quarter of the draw is the man looking to complete a non-calendar grand slam for the second time in his career. Novak Djokovic is the hottest man in tennis right now, and is a very likely semi-finalist from this part of the draw. He sits atop the ATP rankings by a sizeable margin, despite a recent loss to Rafael Nadal in Rome. The likely threats will come from names such as Denis Shapovalov, Fabio Fognini, Alexander Zverev and Nick Kyrgios.

Semi-Finalist – Novak Djokovic

Second Quarter

Dominic Thiem is the 2018 finalist and starts favourite for this quarter of the draw. We love the look of Gael Monfils this year. He is as switched on as we have seen him in his career, and he looks primed for a big run in his home grand slam. The last two years at Roland Garros, Thiem has made the semis and the final, and hasn’t lost to anyone other than Nadal. Now that he’s among the top 4 seeds, he can’t meet any of the Big 3 until the semi-finals. His main challenger (other than Monfils) could be next-gen superstar, Felix Auger-Aliassime. The Canadian remains unproven in best of 5 tennis, but this years Roland Garros could be his chance to announce himself on the Grand Slam stage.

Semi-Finalist – Thiem or Monfils

Third Quarter  

Perhaps the most open quarter in the men’s draw – Tsitsipas, Federer and Wawrinka headline a wide open section. Roger hasn’t played in Paris for 3 years, and won his solitary title a decade ago. We love the look of Stefanos Tsitsipas here, and although he will have to get through 2 former champions (Wawrinka and Federer) to reach the semi-finals – we are backing him.

Semi-finalist – Stefanos Tsitsipas

Fourth Quarter

No preview needed. It’s all about the King of Clay in this quarter.

Semi-Finalist – Rafael Nadal

Predicted Semi-Finals

Novak Djokovic vs Gael Monfils/Dominic Thiem

Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Rafael Nadal

Vamos Predictions

Andrew (Northern GC Head Coach)

Men’s Singles Winner – Rafael Nadal

Mitch (Southern GC Head Coach)

Men’s Singles Winner – Stefanos Tsitsipas

Dan (Brisbane Head Coach)

Men’s Singles Winner – Novak Djokovic

Women’s Singles

First Quarter

Headlined by World no. 1 sensation, Naomi Osaka, this quarter is jam-packed with highly credentialed women ready to lay claim to a semi-final spot. Challengers are going to come in the form of Ash Barty, Bianca Andreescu, Serena Williams, Madison Keys and Maria Sakkari. Round 1 is also home to another 2 potential winners of this quarter – Jelena Ostapenko and Victoria Azarenka. This is the most difficult quarter to pick in either draw, and upsets are sure to occur. Due to Osaka’s extremely tough draw, we think she may fall to one of her many rivals. Our pick? We think experience prevails in the quarter of death.

Semi-finalist – Serena Williams

Second Quarter

Headlined by world no. 3, and defending champion, Simona Halep. Australian Open finalist Petra Kvitova, will look to continue her career resurgence with a strong showing in Paris. Other likely contenders include Sam Stosur (always strong in Paris), teenage sensation Amanda Anisimova and Aryana Sabalenka. We think the fairytale comeback continues for Petra.

Semi-finalist – Petra Kvitova

Third Quarter

Sloane Stephens headlines this quarter of the draw, but is also perhaps the most wildly inconsistent player on either the WTA or ATP tour. Who knows what side of the bed Sloane will wake up on for Roland Garros 2019. Likely challengers include Elina Svitolina, Kiki Bertens, Belinda Bencic and Garbine Muguruza. This is another very open quarter of the draw. Confidence is a massive part of winning on the WTA tour – we like 2016 champion, Garbine Muguruza, to make it through.

Semi-finalist – Garbine Muguruza

Fourth Quarter  

Headlined by world no. 2 Karolina Pliskova, the fourth quarter of the women’s draw is full of dark horses that are primed for an upset. Petra Martic, Julia Georges, Anastasija Sevastova, Marketa Vondrousova and Angie Kerber loom as likely contenders. We like the world no. 2 (and recent Italian Open Champion) here.

Semi-finalist – Karolina Pliskova

Predicted Semi-finals

Serena Williams vs Petra Kvitova

Garbine Muguruza vs Karolina Pliskova

Vamos Coach Predictions

Andrew (Northern GC Head Coach)

Women’s Singles Winner – Karolina Pliskova

Mitch (Southern GC Head Coach)

Women’s Singles Winner – Garbine Muguruza

Dan (Brisbane Head Coach)

Women’s Singles Winner – Petra Kvitova

#furthestaussie –

And finally, let’s take a look at the chances of our home-grown talent at Roland Garros. A true challenger to Sloane Stephens title of most inconsistent player on tour – Nick Kyrgios has a favourable draw in the first 2 rounds and can beat anyone on tour on his day. He could go deep into this year’s Roland Garros (depending on mood/tide/how the NBA went that day). The clay is not a historically favourable setting for most Australian players, unless your name is Samantha Stosur. The 2010 finalist usually produces good results in Paris and has an okay draw. A potential dark horse is Alexei Popyrin – the lanky Aussie was unlucky to not reach the 4th round at the Australian Open, and has a decent draw in Paris. Ash Barty is definitely going to have a breakout year in Paris. Her best results are somehow 2 appearances in the 2nd round. But the world no. 8 has a good draw and strong recent results on clay. She should make a good showing in Paris – look for her to have a strong showing. Here are our predictions for #furthestaussie.

Vamos Predictions

Andrew (Northern GC Head Coach)

#furthestaussie – Ash Barty

Mitch (Southern GC Head Coach)

#furthestaussie – Alexei Popyrin/Ash Barty

Dan (Brisbane Head Coach)

#furthestaussie – Alex De Minaur