Benoit Paire will kick off his Marrakech campaign when he takes the court against Carlos Berlocq on Wednesday. First-round action also features Jiri Vesely and Nikoloz Basilashvili.
Carlos Berlocq vs. (6) Benoit Paire
Paire and Berlocq will be going head-to-head for the first time in their careers when they clash in round one of the Grand Prix Hassan II on Wednesday. Their only previous encounter came five years ago at the Miami Masters, where Berlocq got the job done 6-4, 6-2. Fast forward to 2017 and the veteran Argentine is still faring relatively well at 34 years old. Ranked 64th in the world, Berlocq is 6-5 at the ATP level this season with a semifinal showing in Buenos Aires (lost to Kei Nishikori in three sets).
Although he registers at 39th in the rankings and is close to being seeded at Grand Slams, Paire dabbled back into the Challenger circuit and finished runner-up to Aljaz Bedene at a clay-court event in France last week. At the ATP level, the 27-year-old is a decent 10-9 in 2017 with semifinal performances in Chennai and Montpellier plus a third-round showing in Miami. Paire should have an edge in this one after recently getting five clay-court matches under his belt, whereas Berlocq has not played since mid-March.
Pick: Paire in 3
[polldaddy poll=9721882]
Nikoloz Basilashvili vs. Jiri Vesely
Vesely and Basilashvili will also be squaring off for the second time in their careers (first on the ATP Tour). They previously faced each other at a 2012 Futures event in Georgia, where Basilashvili took care of business at home in the form of a 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 victory. The 57th-ranked Georgian already owns half of his 24 lifetime ATP-level match wins this season. He finished runner-up to Ryan Harrison on the indoor hard courts of Memphis but is coming off disappointing first-round exits in Indian Wells (to Darian King) and Miami (to Tommy Robredo).
A run to the 2016 Wimbledon fourth round by Vesely was memorable, but his clay-court exploits should not be forgotten. The 53rd-ranked Czech reached the semifinals of this Marrakech tournament, upset Novak Djokovic on his way to the Monte-Carlo third round, and advanced to the Istanbul quarters. Vesely is a mediocre 7-8 this year but compiled a decent 3-2 record at the Masters 1000 events in Indian Wells and Miami. With a lot of points to defend on the immediate horizon, Vesely may feel a little bit more pressure than normal as his clay-court campaign begins.
Pick: Basilashvili in 3
[polldaddy poll=9721883]
WWW?
Vesely and Berlocq FTW.
Vesely and berlocq in three setters