Photo by Romain Biard/Icon Sport
Gregoire Barrere vs Alexander Bublik: Roland Garros – first round
Two players in their prime will face each other in the opening round of Roland Garros.
Gregoire Barrere Profile
Gregoire Barrere is 112th in the ATP rankings, and his career high was No. 49 in the world. The Frenchman is 20-18 for the season and 16-9 on clay.
Barrere had to go through the qualifiers to reach the main draw at Roland Garros, and he defeated Theo Papamalamis, Andrea Pellegrino, and Denis Kudla on his way to this point.
The week before, Barrere reached the semifinals at the Bordeaux Challenger, where he lost to Arthur Fils. That was his second semifinal of the season after he reached the same phase in Bucharest.
Barrere made his debut at Roland Garros in 2015 and has made it to the second round only twice before.
Alexander Bublik Profile
Alexander Bublik has the best rankings of his career, being No. 17 in the world. The Kazak is 18-11 for the season and 4-4 on clay.
Last week, Bublik reached the semifinals in Lyon, where he lost to Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard. Previously, in the tournament, he defeated Pavel Kotov and Alexander Vukic.
Bublik won the tournament in Montpellier this season and made it to the final in Dubai, where he lost to Ugo Humbert.
He made his debut at Roland Garros in 2017 and has reached the second round three times before.
Head-to-Head Bublik leads 4-2
- Bublik vs Barrere 6-4, 6-2
- Bublik vs Barrere 6-4, 6-2
- Barrere vs Bublik 6-4, 6-7, 7-6
- Bublik vs Barrere 6-3, 6-7, 6-4
- Barrere vs Bublik 3-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-3
- Bublik vs Barrere 7-6, 7-5
Prediction and Conclusion
These two players know each other very well since they have played six times before, but this will be their first encounter on clay. Bublik has been much better lately and is almost 100 places in front of Barrere in the ATP rankings. Still, the Frenchman should not be underestimated since he is having a good season. He played in the qualifiers last week and has already adapted on the courts in Paris. Also, Barrere will have the support of the home crowd, which will add some fuel to this match. It will definitely be a long one, with both players winning at least a set.
