Roger Federer will continue his French Open campaign on Sunday against Gilles Simon. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Viktor Troicki are also looking for a place in the quarterfinals.
(15) Gilles Simon vs. (2) Roger Federer
Simon and Federer will be squaring off for the sixth time in their careers and for the second time this spring when they clash in the fourth round of the French Open on Sunday. Federer leads the head-to-head series 3-2 after crushing Simon 6-1, 6-2 last month on the clay courts of Rome. Not counting a 2011 first-set retirement, that was the only discouraging result of Simon’s career against Federer. The Frenchman prevailed twice on hard courts in 2008 and a 2011 Australian Open showdown went Federer’s way but lasted five sets.
Simon has to feel like he has been dealt second life–or maybe even third–just to be in the second week at Roland Garros. The world No. 18 staged a comeback from two sets down against Lleyton Hewitt in the first round and he trailed Sam Querrey two sets to one on Friday before surviving in five. Simon also dropped the opening set of his second-rounder against Pablo Cuevas, only to win the next three all by 6-1 scorelines. The 15th seed is 26-14 for the season. Federer is heating up nicely this fortnight as he bids for his first title of 2013 while hoping to post a better result than he did in Madrid (third round) and Rome (blowout loss to Rafael Nadal in the final). The veteran Swiss has not dropped a single set through three rounds nor was he even extended to a tiebreaker during scalps of Pablo Carreno-Busta, Somdev Devvarman, and Julien Benneteau.
While Simon has shown an ability to defeat Federer, their most recent encounter and the improved level of Roland Garros’ 2009 champion do not suggest a similar surprise is on the horizon. His two previous wins notwithstanding, the underdog does not have a game that should trouble Federer. Simon hits a flat, relatively powerless ball that cannot take away Federer’s timing nor does it consistently rise up to or past shoulder height. Count on the No. 2 seed continuing to cruise through the draw.
Pick: Federer 6-2, 7-5, 6-3
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(6) Jo-Wilfried Tsonga vs. Viktor Troicki
Viktor Troicki has put his sport on SportsCenter more frequently than all other players combined during the clay-court swing. Of course, it has not been for his tennis. Rather, a monumental meltdown over a controversial call at the Rome Masters has garnered Troicki unprecedented fame.
Suddenly at the French Open, however, the once-slumping Serb is making noise with his racket. Troicki, who had a 12-14 record in 2013 prior to this fortnight and is down at No. 57 in the world, finds himself in the second week of a Grand Slam for just the third time in his career. He has taken out James Blake, Daniel Gimeno-Traver, and Marin Cilic–two in straight sets and Gimeno-Traver in five.
Up next for Troicki on Sunday is a seventh career meeting with Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. The head-to-head series stands at 3-3, but Tsonga has dominated both of their previous clay-court clashes; 6-2, 6-3 at the 2010 Rome Masters and 6-3, 6-2 last spring in Rome. They also faced each other earlier this season on the hard courts of Miami, where Tsonga prevailed 7-6(6), 6-3. The eighth-ranked Frenchman was a 2012 Roland Garros quarterfinalist and is looking good–to say the least–in his effort on making no less than a repeat performance. Tsonga has not dropped a set in victories over Aljaz Bedene, Jarkko Nieminen, and countryman Jeremy Chardy. The No. 6 seed is 24-8 for the year, which includes a quarterfinal finish at the Australian Open, a title in Marseille, and a recent semifinal performance in Monte-Carlo.
Troicki has capitalized on a favorable draw, as Blake rarely plays matches on clay and Cilic is woefully out of form. This is where the underdog’s luck runs outs. With Tsonga on top of his game, this should not go past three sets.
Pick: Tsonga 7-6(4), 6-3, 6-3
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