Preview: Alejandro Davidovich Fokina vs. Thiago Agustin Tirante - French Open prediction, form, head-to-head

Meeting for the first time on clay, Alejandro Davidovich Fokina and Thiago Agustin Tirante will be seeking a place in the second round of the French Open on Wednesday.

In his opening match, the Spaniard outlasted Damir Dzumhur 6-7 (3-7) 6-3 2-6 7-5 6-3, while Tirante defeated Pablo Llamas Ruiz 6-3 7-6 (8-6) 6-7 (5-7) 6-0.

Match preview

There were plenty of anxious moments in his opening round encounter on Sunday, but Fokina showed plenty of character when needed.

Despite trailing by a set on two occasions, he clawed his way back in part thanks to boasting a 70% on his first serves.

It helped that he captured nine break points throughout the five-set match, while he also came away with four aces.

As a result, he is through to the second round at Roland-Garros for a third successive year and will aim to advance into round three for the first time since 2023.

The Spaniard has only lost one of his last five Grand Slam singles matches in the second round, with Jiri Lehecka beating him in this phase of the previous French Open in four sets.

For the year, Fokina has won over 70% of his service games on clay while saving more than 60% of his break points.

Thiago Agustin Tirante will enter new territory this week, featuring in the second round at Roland-Garros for the very first time.

To defeat his Spanish opponent in round one, the Argentine won five of his 16 break-point opportunities, while winning one tiebreak.

His serve is what rescued him time and again on Sunday as he hit 20 aces for the match, while he only conceded two.

Tirante will hope the third time is the charm in a Grand Slam, having never made it past this stage of a major tournament twice before, while failing to win a set in this round.

That said, he has won at least two matches in a singles tournament in four of his last five appearances on tour.

So far in 2026, he has shown his power on serve with over 100 aces on clay while winning over 75% of his first-serve points.

Tournament so far

Alejandro Davidovich Fokina:

First round: vs. Damir Dzumhur-6-7 (3-7) 6-3 2-6 7-5 6-3

Thiago Agustin Tirante:

First round: vs. Pablo Llamas Ruiz – 6-3 7-6 (8-6) 6-7 (5-7) 6-0

Head To Head

Stockholm Open (2024) - Round of 32: Fokina wins 7-6 6-2

The only time these two squared off was in Sweden two years ago when Fokina won 76% of his first serves and converted two break points, while Tirante failed to get one.

We say: Tirante to win in five sets

Neither seem to make it easy on themselves, but the serve of the Argentine could give him an edge and propel him to an upset on Wednesday.