An all-French showdown on Wednesday in Marseille will pit Lucas Pouille against Pierre-Hugues Herbert. The French crowd will also get to watch Julien Benneteau, who is coming off a win over Malek Jaziri and will face Roberto Bautista Agut in the second round.
Pierre-Hugues Herbert vs. (3) Lucas Pouille
Pouille and Herbert will be squaring off for the third time in their careers at the ATP level when they clash in round two of the Open 13 on Wednesday. The head-to-head series is tied up at one win apiece, with Pouille prevailing 6-4, 6-7(6), 6-4 on the indoor hard courts of Metz in 2016 before Herbert got the job done 7-6(5), 6-7(4), 6-3 last season on the red clay of Madrid. It was already been a productive February indoor swing for Pouille, who captured his fifth career title two weeks ago in Montpellier. Forced to make a quick turnaround in Rotterdam, the 16th-ranked Frenchman dropped his opener against Andrey Rublev 7-5, 6-4.
While Pouille earned a first-round bye as the No. 3 seed, Herbert advanced on Tuesday by defeating qualifier Norbert Gombos 6-2, 7-6(3). The current indoor stretch has been a nice one for Herbert, too, but also a grueling one. Last week in Rotterdam he reached the singles second round as a qualifier and captured the doubles title with fellow Frenchman Nicolas Mahut. Flipping his Rotterdam script, a well-rested Pouille should be able to take advantage of a fatigued world No. 99.
Pick: Pouille in 2
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(5) Roberto Bautista Agut vs. Julien Benneteau
As Benneteau nears the the end of his career, he is still in search of that elusive first ATP title. The 36-year-old Frenchman is an infamous 0-10 lifetime in finals, nine of which have come at the 250-point level (the one exception came in Rotterdam five years ago). Six of Benneteau’s 10 finals have come on indoor hard courts, including at this Marseille tournament in 2010–when he ousted Gael Monfils and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga before succumbing to frequent doubles partner Michael Llodra. Small 250s at home in France are always some of world No. 56’s best title opportunities, but he recently lost to Ricardas Berankis in the Montpellier first round.
Up next for Benneteau following a 6-4, 6-3 victory over Malek Jaziri is a second career meeting with Bautista Agut (first at the ATP level). Their only previous encounter came back in 2011, when Benneteau scored a 6-3, 6-4 victory on the indoor hard courts of the Rennes Challenger. Fast forward seven years and Bautista Agut is obviously a much different player, registering at 22nd in the rankings. The Spaniard won his seventh career ATP title in Auckland but has been a disaster ever since, with a straight-set loss to Fernando Verdasco in round one of the Australian Open followed by a shocking clay-court setback against Great Britain’s Cameron Norrie during Davis Cup action. Although this is a decent upset chance for Benneteau, a well-rested Bautista Agut should be able to find his indoor footing in time to survive a competitive contest.
Pick: Bautista Agut in 3
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WYG?
Pouille in 3 – Benneteau in 3