Jerzy Janowicz will kick off his Metz campaign on Tuesday against Adrian Mannarino. Andreas Seppi and Igor Sijsling are also in action as the fall swing gets underway.
(7) Jerzy Janowicz vs. Adrian Mannarino
Janowicz and Mannarino will be going head-to-head for the second time in their careers at the ATP level and for the second time this season when they collide in the first round of the Moselle Open on Tuesday. They also faced each other on the indoor hard courts of France earlier in 2014 in Montpellier, where Janowicz prevailed 7-6(2), 6-3. Mannarino, however, has defeated the Pole once before; 4-6, 7-5, 6-3 at a clay-court Challenger event five years ago.
It has not been a good year for Janowicz, but he at least started to win some matches this summer. The world No. 40 reached the third round in Cincinnati, finished runner-up in Winston-Salem, and advanced one round at the U.S. Open. Mannarino is coming off a third-round performance in New York, where he upset Fabio Fognini before going down to Roberto Bautista Agut. The 76th-ranked Frenchman also won a Challenger title in Istanbul last week. Mannarino will frustrate Janowicz with his crafty play, but a fast surface and the fact that the underdog may be somewhat fatigued point toward a slight edge for the No. 7 seed.
Pick: Janowicz in 3
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Andreas Seppi vs. Igor Sijsling
Seppi appears to be slowing down at 30 years old as he heads into his first-round match in Metz on Tuesday. The Italian is a disappointing 20-25 for his 2014 campaign and he is well off his career-high ranking (18th) at No. 48 in the world. He did not do much on American hard courts but also did not lose a single first-round match in any of his four tournaments. Seppi reached the Winston-Salem quarterfinals and won one match in New York before losing to Nick Kyrgios.
Up next for Seppi is Sijsling, against whom he is l-0 lifetime. They squared off almost exactly two years ago in Moscow, where Seppi cruised 7-5, 6-2. Sijsling has been even worse than his opponent–by a good margin–in 2014. The 74th-ranked Dutchman is a horrendous 9-26 at the ATP level. He lost to Victor Estrella Burgos in the U.S. Open first round and dropped a Davis Cup playoff rubber to Mate Delic last week that proved to be critical in the Netherlands’ 3-2 loss to Croatia. It’s hard to imagine Sijsling recovering in time to do any damage in Metz.
Pick: Seppi in 2
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