2020 French Open Men’s Singles Round of 16 Odds and Picks – Oct. 5

• In this unusual, chilly, autumn French Open, only one round-of-16 men’s match went according to plan
• Qualifiers Sebastian Korda and Daniel Altmaier and French wild card Hugo Gaston are having the tournament of their lives
• Are there any legitimate upset possibilities? We break it down

With a little luck, the new lights and the new Court Philippe-Chatrier roof, this unique October edition of the French Open is on schedule so far.

The results, however, have been even more unpredictable than the weather.

French Open Men’s Singles Round of 16 Odds

All odds taken Oct. 4
*Matches to be played Monday
**Matches to be played Sunday

Here’s a preview of three of the matches scheduled for Monday.

[1] Novak Djokovic vs [15] Karen Khachanov

Khachanov does have a victory over Djokovic, two years ago at the Paris Masters on an indoor hard court.

In the other three – two in the last 12 months – the 24-year-old Russian has failed to take a set.

The two are meeting on red clay for the first time.

4⃣ RG main draws, 4⃣ R16 appearances 🗣️@karenkhachanov solves Garin 6-2 3-6 6-4 6-2 to meet winner of Djokovic vs. Galan.#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/kVsWPJoEoj

— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) October 3, 2020

Meanwhile, Djokovic has lost a total of…five games in each of his first three rounds.

There is some value to be had in the match going over 31.5 games. And it might be worth a shot at Khachanov winning the first set (+550).

But anything other than a fairly routine win by Djokovic would be a shocker.

Pick: Djokovic in three sets

[13] Andrey Rublev vs. Marton Fucsovics

Fucsovics’s upset of No. 4 seed Daniil Medvedev in the first round must be taken with a caveat: in four tries, Medvedev still hasn’t won a match at the French Open.

Still, Rublev is well aware of the challenge.

“To play against Fucsovics is really tough, especially on clay, because he have really, really great – physical-wise he’s really fast and he’s really aggressive player so I was feeling like in a way that Daniil had really, really tough first round,” he said after Fucsovic’s victory over his fellow Russian.

His own history with the Hungarian backs that up.

The two have played twice. Fucsovics defeated him in five sets in Davis Cup in 2017 on outdoor red clay. He also defeated Rublev in three tight sets in the first round of qualifying on clay in Barcelona in 2016.

Rublev was younger then. But Fucsovics also is a better player now.

“I’m in the top 100 since three and a half years. Finally I can show that I can beat them, I can beat the top-10 players, I can beat the next superstars of tennis. This gives me a lot of confidence,” Fucsovics said this week. “It was four or five years ago when I played (Rublev). I got more mature. I have more experience. I’m fit now – fitter than ever.”

Rublev reached the Hamburg ATP final last Sunday. Two days later, he faced American Sam Querrey in Paris.

He dropped the first two sets in tiebreaks before going on to win in five.

At some point, does it catch up with him – especially knowing his opponent will make it a hugely physical battle?

Pick: Fucsovics in five sets

[5] Stefanos Tsitsipas vs. [18] Grigor Dimitrov

On paper, this was to be a great match between young guns Tsitsipas and Denis Shapovalov, seeded No. 9.

But Shapovalov went down 8-6 in the fifth to Roberto Carballes Baena, a match that turned on a brutal line call by the chair umpire at the most crucial juncture.

When will we have Hawkeye on clay? @atptour @rolandgarros pic.twitter.com/neTqwglkbD

— Denis Shapovalov (@denis_shapo) October 1, 2020

In the next round, Carballes Baena had to retire against Dimitrov.

Carballes Baena was sick all night. Fever and vomit episodes https://t.co/385mGuVVXa

— enrico maria riva (@enricomariariva) October 3, 2020

The Bulgarian’s opponents so far have been ranked No. 103 (Grégoire Barrere), No. 102  (Andrej Martin) and No. 101 (Carballes Baena).

This is a major step up.

Like Rublev, Tsitsipas came straight from Hamburg and had to overcome a two-sets-to-none deficit to win his first round.

But Tsitsipas hasn’t been tested since. He should be fresh.

Surprisingly, it’s a first career meeting between the two.

This is Dimitrov’s 10th Roland Garros, and his first trip to the second week.

The Bulgarian is at +163 to win the first set. He could, but he’s unlikely to cause the upset even if it is tempting.

Pick: Tsitsipas in four sets