Nastasja Schunk vs Simona Halep 5/24/22 French Open Tennis Picks, Predictions, Odds

Simona Halep and Nastasja Schunk meet in the first round of the 2022 tennis French Open.

Simona Halep is playing some of her best tennis in recent memory as she’s won eight of her last 11 matches and that includes making the quarterfinals in Madrid. Halep has been up and down over the last year or so, but her recent form over these last two months suggest she could be on the comeback in terms of being a top-10 player in the world. Halep returns to the French Open after withdrawing last year, and her 76 winning percentage here makes this her most successful grand slam. Halep hasn’t lost in the first round of a grand slam since the 2018 US Open. Halep hasn’t lost in the first round of the French Open since 2013. Halep has split her last eight matches on clay court.

Nastasja Schunk makes her first ever grand slam appearance after Ana Konjuh had to withdraw due to a broken foot. Schunk is an 18-year-old German who has done her best work on the ITF Circuit, with four career final appearances and two titles. Schunk hasn’t played a match on the main tour since Stuttgart, more than a month ago. Schunk’s only other big match experience was this year in the Miami Open, where she lost to Yulia Putintseva in three sets. Throw in the short notice and this is going to be valuable experience for the young Schunk regardless of result. Schunk has split her last six matches on clay court.

There’s no match history between these two players.

Schunk has no big match experience to lean on, and this is a tough spot given the venue and the short notice after originally failing to qualify. It doesn’t help that Halep has found her form and is hitting the ball well.

There’s no reason why Halep doesn’t win this match in straight sets. You’re asking a lot of Schunk to be competitive.