Will the Beast Emerge at Roland Garros?

[Meles]

Boric the Beast of course.

Why does Boric rate so highly on clay:
1. Strong clay first serve game this year and last (better than Nadal)
2. Inexplicably poor return stats on both hard and clay reversed at 2018 Miami with over 50% of return points won in his first four matches including a whopping 63.7% against Agut.
3. With the better ground game Coric was also very strong on 2nd serve points won on hard courts from Dubai in February with over 57% points won.

2018 clay results:
19 / 2018 Rome Masters
R64 Clay Stefanos Tsitsipas Borna Coric 4-1 Ret. H2H 2.40 - 1.59 (Neck injury)
18 / 2018 Madrid Masters
R16 Clay Dominic Thiem Borna Coric 2-6 7-6(5) 6-4 H2H 1.61 - 2.30 (Thiem escaped MPs)
R32 Clay Borna Coric Jan-Lennard Struff 6-0 6-2 H2H 1.30 - 3.50
R64 Clay Borna Coric Pablo Carreno Busta 6-4 6-2 H2H 1.91 - 1.87
15 / 2018 Monte Carlo Masters
R32 Clay Novak Djokovic Borna Coric 7-6(2) 7-5 H2H 1.33 - 3.25 (played rather poorly)
R64 Clay Borna Coric Julien Benneteau 6-2 6-3 H2H 1.16 - 5.00

Its been a lackluster clay season for Boric, but he's only gone down to quality players (Thiem before beating Nadal, Djokovic, and Tsitsipas). He'll have a chance to make a run to a QF showdown with Nadal (who he's beaten twice):
R1: A dangerous Kohly who Borna beat last year in the Marrakech final
R2: Fabbiano - non c'è problema
R32: Schwartzman - 2-0 vs a Diego who is now slumping
R16: Anderson - just beat KA at IW.

 

[Jonas78]

They managed to put almost every decent player In the bottom half, but Rafa-Coric is a match i was hoping for. If someone actually have a chance to defeat Rafa It must be a NextGen. LostGen choke by the mere sight of a Big4.

 

[Meles]

They managed to put almost every decent player In the bottom half, but Rafa-Coric is a match i was hoping for. If someone actually have a chance to defeat Rafa It must be a NextGen. LostGen choke by the mere sight of a Big4.

Its a weird year. The familiar geriatric pigeons are no threat on clay at their ages. LostGen is really bad on clay save perhaps Goffin (Nishikori does not have the stamina). Some middling LostGen are filling the void. NextGen of course doing well enough but with Rublev mia after a three setter in MC with Thiem (bad back), Chung, and Coric probably with multiple injury issues they've not quite produced. Tiafoe final in Estoril was nice. Shapo SF in Madrid and his play very nice. Tsitsipas has been a revelation, but will he light fire again?