Rome R1 previews and picks: Gulbis vs. Nieminen, Janowicz vs. Giraldo

Ernests Gulbis is set for another meeting with familiar foe Jarkko Nieminen on Monday in Rome. Jerzy Janowicz and Santiago Giraldo are also in action.

(Q) Ernests Gulbis vs. Jarkko Nieminen

Nieminen and Gulbis will be going head-to-head for the fifth time in their careers when they square off in round one of the Internazionali BNL d’Italia on Monday afternoon. Gulbis has dominated all four of their previous encounters, including two this season. Their most recent encounter–and the only one on clay–came last month in the Munich first round, where Gulbis cruised 6-4, 6-2. In eight career sets, Nieminen has won zero and has taken only one to a tiebreaker.

Both men are playing stellar tennis for the most part in 2013. Gulbis got off to a bit of a slow start after skipping the Australian summer, but he captured the Delray Beach title and reached the Indian Wells fourth round as a qualifier. The 48th-ranked Latvian is a perfect four for four in qualifying attempts this season, including this week in Rome. Overall for the year at the ATP main-draw level, Gulbis boasts a 17-6 record. Nieminen has cooled off somewhat of late after a nice run that included third-round performances in both Indian Wells and Miami followed by a quarterfinal showing in Monte-Carlo. The 31-year-old Finn fell to Gilles Simon in the Bucharest second round before dropping his Munich opener to Gulbis. He has not played since his most recent loss to Gulbis.

Both players skipped Madrid, so they will be well-rested. This should feature some high-quality tennis, but there is no reason to think Gulbis won’t be able to continue feasting on his opponent’s relatively week serve. Based on their past history, Gulbis is the obvious choice.

Pick: Gulbis in 2

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(Q) Santiago Giraldo vs. Jerzy Janowicz

Janowicz is struggling to build on his breakout tournament in Paris last fall, when he finished runner-up to David Ferrer. The 22-year-old Pole is just 10-9 this year, which includes a third-round showing at the Australian Open. Janowicz beat Sam Querrey last week in Madrid before succumbing to eventual semifinalist Tomas Berdych in three sets.

Up first in Rome for Janowicz is Giraldo, whom he has never faced. The 78th-ranked Colombian is 8-10 for his 2013 campaign but he fared relatively well in Madrid. Giraldo qualified for the main draw then eased past Martin Klizan before going down to eventual runner-up Stanislas Wawrinka. Clay will give the underdog a chance against his big-hitting opponent, but Janowicz has shown a decent amount of guile on the slow stuff and he should get the job done.

Pick: Janowicz in 3

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