Marseille R1 previews and picks: Goffin vs. Chung, Paire vs. Bolelli

David Goffin and Benoit Paire will begin their Marseille campaigns during first-round action on Monday. They are set for respective meetings with Hyeon Chung and Simone Bolelli.

(6) David Goffin vs. Hyeon Chung

Goffin and Chung will be going head-to-head for the first time in their careers when they clash in round one of the Open 13 on Monday night. Off to a mostly lackluster start this season, Goffin is looking to bounce back from an immediate loss in Rotterdam to Marcos Baghdatis. The 16th-ranked Belgian at least managed to reach the last 16 at the Australian Open, but that was preceded by a second-round Brisbane setback against Lucas Pouille.

At just 19 years old, Chung is already up to 69th in the world. The Korean got a terrible draw in Melbourne–falling to eventual champion Novak Djokovic in round one–but he has otherwise been decent in 2016. Chung advanced one round in both Brisbane (beat Sam Groth) and Rotterdam (beat Guillermo Garcia-Lopez). This is unlikely to be a favorable matchup for the underdog, who showcases a style similar to that of Goffin but with much less experience and also less firepower.

Pick: Goffin in 2

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Simone Bolelli vs. (8) Benoit Paire

Alarming cold streaks have never been out of the ordinary for Paire. What in concerning about this particular slump is that it has come on the heels of the No. 8 seed’s best tennis of his career. Paire upset Kei Nishikori at the 2015 U.S. Open and ultimately made it to the fourth round before finishing runner-up in Tokyo and advancing to finals at two Challenger tournaments (won one, lost one). Paire appeared to be maintaining momentum with a semifinal showing last month in Chennai. But he has since lost four of five matches, with each of the four losses coming in straight sets.

Up first for Paire on Monday in Marseille is a second career meeting with Bolelli. Their only previous encounter came five years ago on the clay courts of a Challenger event in San Marino, where the Frenchman prevailed 6-7(5), 7-5, 6-2. Bolelli is a dreadful 1-3 so far this year, defeating only an oft-injured Brian Baker in four tiebreakers at the Australian Open. There is no telling what might transpire in this one, but Paire should be somewhat motivated–perhaps very motivated by his relatively low standards–to turn things around and to do so in front of a French crowd.

Pick: Paire in 3

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