With the second round of the French Open in the books, it's time to highlight which players are on the rise and which ones look most vulnerable heading into the next round. Players who have been eliminated are of little interest to fantasy owners as the tournament unfolds, so this column is meant to take a look ahead based on what's happened so far rather than reflect on the past.
The stars are cruising on the men's side, while four unseeded Frenchmen have given the home crowd plenty to cheer about with surprising runs to the third round. Meanwhile, the women's draw has opened up considerably, as 17 of the 34 remaining players are unseeded (two second-round matches are still yet to be decided). Youth is stealing the show, with a pair of 17-year-olds looking great so far and showing few signs of slowing down.
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The Big 3 - Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer have dominated so far. None of the three have dropped a set yet, with no opponent taking more than four games in a single set. Nadal's the only member of the Big 3 who will face a seeded opponent in Round 3, but he's 3-0 in his career on clay against No. 27 David Goffin. I'll take the under on one total set lost between Djokovic, Nadal and Federer in the third round.
Stefanos Tsitsipas - Tsitsipas has demonstrated a nice mix of dominance and resilience, sweeping away Maximilian Marterer in the opening round before responding to a poor first set with a 4-6, 6-0, 6-3, 7-5 victory over Hugo Dellien in Round 2. With a robust 14-4 record on clay this season, Tsitsipas is on a collision course to meet Federer in the quarterfinals. He needs two more wins to get there, starting with unseeded Serbian Filip Krajinovic.
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Juan Martin del Potro - Del Potro escaped with a five-set win over Yoshihito Nishioka in the second round despite tweaking his knee in the first set and needing to call the trainer. That injury scare is especially worrisome for a guy who has had to sit out most of the season with knee problems. While unseeded Australian Jordan Thompson isn't a terribly scary third-round opponent (unless you're scared of mustaches), the questions about del Potro's health complicate his situation considerably.
Sleeper
Grigor Dimitrov - Dimitrov was perhaps the most dangerous unseeded floater in the draw, as he was ranked No. 3 in the world as recently as November of 2017. No. 11 seed Marin Cilic found that out the hard way in the second round, falling to Dimitrov in five sets. Third-round opponent Stan Wawrinka barely broke a sweat in taking out popular dark horse pick Christian Garin in Round 2, but the 2015 French Open Champion surely doesn't love the idea of facing Dimitrov next, especially with almost no pressure on the talented Bulgarian.
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Amanda Anisimova - After reaching the fourth round in Australia, Anisimova has a golden opportunity to make an even deeper run in France. The 17-year-old New Jersey native knocked off 11th-seeded Aryna Sabalenka 6-4, 6-2 in Round 2, setting up a third-round clash with Romania's Irina-Camelia Begu. There are no seeded players left in Anisimova's path until the quarterfinals, so the young American should get at least that far if she can hold her nerve.
Naomi Osaka - Life always finds a way, and apparently so does Osaka, who has now equaled her best career result at Roland Garros despite being a handful of points from defeat in each of her first two matches. While she doesn't quite seem to be in championship form, the top seed is unlikely to have her 16-match Grand Slam winning streak halted by doubles specialist Katerina Siniakova in the third round.
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Elina Svitolina - After defeating Venus Williams in the first round, Svitolina didn't have to take the court in Round 2 with Ukrainian countrywoman Kateryna Kozlova withdrawing prior to that match. Svitolina thus remains just 1-4 in her last five matches played, which is far from ideal form ahead of a difficult third-round draw against No. 19 seed and 2016 French Open Champion Garbine Muguruza.
Sleeper
Iga Swiatek - There's no shortage of potential sleepers with so many unseeded players remaining, but Swiatek has stood out due to her dominant form. The Polish 17-year-old recorded identical 6-3, 6-0 wins in the first two rounds, knocking off No. 16 seed Qiang Wang in the second. She will probably be the underdog against 2016 Olympic Champion Monica Puig in the third round, but Swiatek has a great chance of pulling the upset against her more accomplished opponent given her terrific form thus far.
