Things have not gone as expected for Emma Raducanu since she made her breakthrough with a surprise victory at the 2021 US Open and the British number one will be keen to show that Grand Slam victory was not a flash in the pan.
Raducanu is still capable of producing world-class performances but she has been crippled by injuries this season, with this just her second tournament appearance since Indian Wells in March.
The 23-year-old still has time on her side to resume her progress but clay has looked her weakest surface to date and this is only her second visit to the French Open.
Raducanu’s opening opponent is Argentina’s Solana Sierra, who hailing from South America has a strong clay-court game.
The 21-year-old is the world number 64, which is 27 places lower than Raducanu in the rankings, and she arrives in Paris in good form with plenty of positive performances under her belt.
Emma Raducanu v Solana Sierra Tips Summary
Best Bet - Solana Sierra to win @ 4/7
Alternative Bet - Emma Raducanu 5+ double faults @ 13/8
Bet Builder - Solana Sierra to win 2-0, 8+ match double faults & under 0.5 tiebreaks @ 6/1
Emma Raducanu v Solana Sierra Prediction
Best Bet: Solana Sierra to win @ 4/7
Fully wound up under quicker conditions, Raducanu would be expected to be hard to beat.
However, Raducanu only made her comeback in Strasbourg following a two-month injury layoff last week and her 6-4 7-6 defeat to Diane Parry hinted that there was work still to be done.
Raducanu won't be at peak fitness and clay has looked her weakest surface to date, so she could prove extremely vulnerable.
Sierra, meanwhile, thrives on these slower conditions and has won seven of her last 10 clay-court matches.
Sierra won three matches in Madrid before reaching the third round in Rome, where she was able to push world number four Coco Gauff to a deciding set.
Alternative Bet: Emma Raducanu 5+ double faults @ 13/8
Double faults can creep into Raducanu’s game when she is not feeling at her fluent best and that was the case on her return from injury in Strasbourg.
Raducanu made nine double faults in that 6-4 7-6 defeat and in her first-round win over Xinyu Wang in last season’s French Open she prevailed despite making five more double faults.
Clay is a specialist surface, where pace and power don’t necessarily come to the fore and because of that, there comes plenty of pressure on the second serve.
Emma Raducanu v Solana Sierra Bet Builder Tip
- Solana Sierra to win 2-0
- 8+ match double faults
- Under 0.5 tiebreaks
Pays 6/1
Given that Raducanu had been sidelined since March before last week’s comeback in Strasbourg, she may be a long way off peak fitness and Sierra can record a straight-sets victory.
Sierra has won seven of her last 10 matches on clay and five of those victories finished 2-0.
Both players are prone to double faults - Raducanu made nine in her last start while Sierra made five - and they are likely to be under pressure to hold.
Breaks of serve are common practice in women’s tennis, especially on the slower surface, and sets are unlikely to be tight.
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Key Match Stats
- Raducanu has lost five of her last six matches
- Sierra has won seven of her last 10 matches
- Raducanu has won only two of her four matches at the French Open
- Four of Sierra’s five Grand Slam appearances have resulted in first-round exits
- Only three of Sierra’s last 18 clay-court matches have gone to a deciding set
- Just two of Raducanu’s last six clay-court assignments have featured all three sets
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This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.
