Gilles Simon will continues his Bangkok campaign on Thursday against Bernard Tomic. Mikhail Youzhny and Denis Istomin are also looking for a place in the quarterfinals.
(4) Gilles Simon vs. Bernard Tomic
Rafael Nadal is showing in 2013 that a little rest can go a long way. To a much lesser extent, of course, Simon may be doing the same. Also struggling with knee issues, the 14th-ranked Frenchman retired from a first-round match in Cincinnati and he did not play again throughout the remainder of the hard-court summer. Simon returned last week in Metz and promptly won the title without dropping a single set, beating countryman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the final. He is now 33-20 for the season.
Up first for Simon on Thursday at the Thailand Open is a second career meeting with Tomic. They previously faced each other a few months ago on the grass courts of Eastbourne, where Simon prevailed 7-6(8), 6-3. Tomic has struggled since reaching the fourth round at Wimbledon, but the 20-year-old Aussie is still a solid 23-16 for his 2013 campaign thanks mostly to an impressive Australian summer. This a good matchup for Simon, who can bunt the ball around with Tomic all day long–especially on an indoor hard court as opposed to grass.
Pick: Simon in 2
[polldaddy poll=7424542]
(5) Mikhail Youzhny vs. Denis Istomin
Istomin and Youzhny will be squaring off for the fourth time in their careers on Thursday in Bangkok. Youzhny leads the head-to-head series 2-1, but he lost their only previous hard-court clash via second-set retirement at the 2009 St. Petersburg tournament. The Russian scored victories on the clay courts of Gstaad in 2011 (6-3, 6-2) and at Wimbledon in 2012 (6-3, 5-7, 6-4, 6-7(5), 7-5).
Both players are in fine form at the moment. Youzhny lost in the St. Petersburg second round last week, but he recently made a run to the U.S. Open quarters. The world No. 20 is 33-20 for the season after taking care of Paolo Lorenzi 6-3, 6-2 on Wednesday. Istomin advanced with a 6-3, 6-0 rout of Korean wild card Suk-Young Jeong. The 47th-ranked Uzbek is 30-26 for the year, which includes a fourth-round showing in New York. This should feature ball-striking at its finest, with a slight edge going to Youzhny–who has five titles and nine final appearances on indoor hard courts.
Pick: Youzhny in 3
[polldaddy poll=7424544]
Allez Gilou
Spot on Ricky.
Simon is playing better than he has for a long time and Youhzny is on a roll.
Do hope Andy follows the trend…;)
Agree re Geeloo, not so sure about Youzny, Istomin has been playing well this year.