Nick Kyrgios will be back in action for the first time since the Australian Open when he faces Malek Jaziri in the Marseille second round on Wednesday. Frenchmen Gilles Simon and Julien Benneteau are also aiming for a place in the quarterfinals.
Malek Jaziri vs. (3) Nick Kyrgios
The most dominant week of Kyrgios’ career came at the Open 13 last year, when he bulldozed his way to ATP career title No. 1 with straight-set defeats of Vasek Pospisil, Teymuraz Gabashvili, Richard Gasquet, Tomas Berdych, and Marin Cilic. No one other than Cilic–in the second set of the final–even took Kyrgios to a tiebreaker. The 16th-ranked Aussie has played only three matches this season, with a second-round Australian Open loss to Andreas Seppi from two sets up prior to a Davis Cup beatdown of unheralded Czech Jan Satral.
Kyrgios’ title defense will begin on Wednesday with a third career showdown against Jaziri, who trails the head-to-head series 2-0. Jaziri fell 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 in 2013 U.S. Open qualifying and 6-3, 7-6(6), 6-1 in the third round of the 2015 Aussie Open. The 47th-ranked Tunisian already owns seven ATP-level match victories this year, with another third-round performance in Melbourne and a 6-3, 6-3 rout of Andrey Kuznetsov on Monday. Jaziri is in fine form at the moment, but Krygios should be motivated to defend his 2016 points and he obviously feels comfortable at this tournament.
Pick: Kyrgios in 2
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(7) Gilles Simon vs. (WC) Julien Benneteau
Simon and Benneteau will be facing each other for the 10th time in their careers at the ATP level. The head-to-head series stands at 5-4 in favor of Simon, who is 3-2 against Benneteau on indoor hard courts. The two French veterans most recently squared off at last fall’s Paris Masters, where Simon got the job done 4-6, 6-3, 6-2.
Benneteau is trying to make his way back inside the top 100 in his comeback from injuries, and he currently registers at No. 120 in the world. The 35-year-old picked up his first win of this 2017 campaign by beating 17-year-old Canadian Denis Shapovalov 7-5, 6-4 on Tuesday. Simon faced an up-and-coming talent, as well, on Monday and overcame Karen Khachanov 4-6, 7-5, 6-3. The world No. 23 is a mediocre 5-3 this season with a third-round showing Down Under (lost to Milos Raonic). In what should be a competitive contest, Simon will likely find a way to break down Benneteau from the back of the court with too much consistency.
Pick: Simon in 3
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who ya got?
i like Jaziri in a mild upset, and Simon in 3.
I think Jaziri is a shot but it depends too much on Kyrgios. I still pick Kyrgios in 3.
And Simon in 2. He needs to do a good tournament and i think Benneteau can’t answer to Simon’s defensive game.
I think Jaziri has a shot but it depends too much on Kyrgios. I still pick Kyrgios in 3.
And Simon in 2. He needs to do a good tournament and i think Benneteau can’t answer to Simon’s defensive game.
Simon
Kyrgios in 2 or Jaziri in 3…depending on which Kyrgios shows up.
It’s always tough to know which Kyrgios will show up. On paper he should win this, but his unpredictability is the issue.
So I will pick Kyrgios in 2 sets, but won’t be surprised if Jaziri wins.
Simon in 3 sets.