Thanasi Kokkinakis vs Giulio Zeppieri Prediction & Betting Tips - ATP French Open

Prediction published on 29/05/2024, 09:20  by Steve Ashfield | Modified on 29/05/2024 at 10:08 in ATP French Open Predictions

Two unseeded players meet in the second round at Roland Garros. Thanasi Kokkinakis takes on the qualifier Giulio Zeppieri for a place in the last 32. Zeppieri caused a surprise in the first round when beating the out-of-form 22nd seed Adrian Mannarino. He lost the first set but then won the next three for the loss of only five games. It's the second year in a row he's reached round two of this outdoor clay court tournament so must love playing at Roland Garros. This year hasn't gone too well for him on the ATP Tour but this is the second successive Grand Slam in which he's made it to round two. He's up to 139th in the live rankings but that's still below the 110th he achieved earlier this year.

Thanasi Kokkinakis was the world number 100 when the latest ranking list was published and is 106th in the live list. Round one at Roland Garros saw him face fellow Australian Alexei Popyrin and it took him five sets to get the victory. A win over Zeppieri will take him into round three of this Grand Slam for the third time in his career. The others came in 2015 and last year and this is the only Grand Slam in which he's reached that stage. This year has seen him win a Challenger Tour clay court title in Sarasota and a quarter-final in Bordeaux. This is the first time he's got past the opening round of an ATP Tour clay court event this year. A tight match looks likely but the more experienced Kokkinakis can get the win.