French Open contender Dominic Thiem is taking his preparation right up to the last minute, as he prepares to battle Gilles Simon for the Lyon title on Saturday. In Geneva, meanwhile, the final will feature Peter Gojowyczk and Marton Fucsovics.
Open Parc Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes Lyon: (1) Dominic Thiem vs. Gilles Simon
Thiem and Simon will be squaring off for the ninth time in their careers when they clash in the Lyon final on Saturday. Simon once led the head-to-head series 2-1, but Thiem has reeled off five wins in a row to seize a 6-2 advantage. It has, however, been competitive from start to finish. Only half of their eight previous encounters ended in straight sets and each of those four straght-setters featured a tiebreaker. They most recently faced each other last summer at Wimbledon, where Thiem got the job done 5-7, 6-4, 6-2, 6-4.
While the eighth-ranked Austrian has overworked himself more than a few times before slams, this week may be just what the doctor ordered for him heading into the French Open. Aside from a Madrid upset of Rafael Nadal and an ensuing runner-up finish, Thiem has not been as productive on clay as usual–with early losses in Barcelona and Rome. So far in Lyon he has defeated Roberto Carballes Baena, Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, and Dusan Lajovic. Simon booked a spot in his second ATP final of the season with victories over Jordi Samper-Montana, Joris De Loore, Mikhail Kukuhskin (in a third-set tiebreaker), and Cameron Norrie. Thiem’s surface advantage in this one may be too tough to overcome for the Pune champion, who was just 4-4 on clay in 2018 prior to this week.
Pick: Thiem in 2
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Banque Eric Sturdza Geneva Open: Marton Fucsovics vs. Peter Gojowyczk
It will be a expectedly unexpected 250-point final the week before a Grand Slam when Fucsovics and Gojowyczk clash for the second time in their careers on Saturday in Geneva. Their only previous meeting came three years ago in U.S. Open qualifying, with Gojowyczk dominating 6-2, 6-0. Fucsovics, though, is finally making real name for himself at 26 years old. The Hungarian has earned exactly one-third (11 of 33) of his career ATP-level wins this season and is up to 60th in the rankings. A fourth-round performer at the Australian Open, Fucsovics is through to his first main-tour title match following defeats of Albert Ramos-Vinolas, Frances Tiafoe, Stan Wawrinka, and Steve Johnson.
At 28 years old, Gojowyczk is also enjoying the best season of his career. The 49th-ranked German kicked it off with consecutive quarterfinal performances in Doha and Auckland, finished runner-up to Tiafoe in Delray Beach, reached the Rome third round, and is now into his third career final thanks to Geneva victories over Ivo Karlovic, David Ferrer, Andreas Seppi, and Fabio Fognini. Thanks to familiarity with these situations, and a title last fall in Metz, Gojowyzk should have a slight edge in this one.
Pick: Gojowyczk in 3
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