![\"Matteo](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/tennis\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Berrettini-678x381.png\" "\\"Matteo")
\nGetty Images<\/p>\n
\nGetty Images<\/p>\n
Second-round action at Roland Garros on Thursday brings Matteo Berrettini up against home crowd favorite Arthur Rinderknech. Ben Shelton faces Belgium\u2019s Raphael Collignon in what could be a tricky afternoon for the American.<\/p>\n
Matteo Berrettini vs. (22) Arthur Rinderknech<\/p>\n
Matteo Berrettini is not the player you want to run into on clay in the second round, regardless of what the rankings say. The Italian comes in unseeded and ranked 107th, but his 70-28 career clay record means he\u2019s a factor as long as he\u2019s healthy. Against Marton Fucsovics in the first round, Berrettini was shaky out of the gate before winning three sets in a row as his serve and forehand found their groove. That pattern of warming up slowly and then taking over is vintage Berrettini. His best Roland Garros result was a quarterfinal run in 2021. The courts are playing faster than usual this week, with the heat drying the clay out \u2014 which benefits his natural aggression.<\/p>\n
Rinderknech arrives as the higher seed and, naturally, with the crowd behind him. The Frenchman reached a career-high ranking of 24th earlier this month and won his opener against Jurij Rodionov in three comfortable sets. He has the serve to compete with anyone, winning 84 percent of service games in 2026 \u2014 but his return game is where opponents find their openings, and Berrettini is experienced enough to make that matter across best-of-five sets. Their only previous meeting came at the 2023 U.S. Open, where Rinderknech won in a retirement \u2014 so there is not much to take from that. The home crowd will lift Rinderknech, but I\u2019m giving this one to Berrettini for a minor upset.<\/p>\n
Cheryl pick: Berrettini in 5<\/p>\n
Ricky pick: Rinderknech in 5<\/p>\n
(5) Ben Shelton vs. Raphael Collignon<\/p>\n
Ben Shelton\u2019s clay season has been hard to read. He won Munich in April, becoming the first American man to win a clay title above the 250 level since 2002, but then lost in his opening match in both Madrid and Rome. He came through his French Open first-rounder against Daniel Merida cleanly enough, winning 86 percent of points behind his first serve and doing what he does best: keeping points short and explosive. Shelton\u2019s game suits these conditions. The heat and dry weather has sped up the court, the ball is bouncing through quickly, and his lefty serve is going to be uncomfortable for anyone on the other side of the net.<\/p>\n
![\"Ben](\"https:\/\/tenngrand.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/DanielMcEnrue-4581.jpg\")