Marseille R1 previews and picks: Rosol vs. Stakhovsky, Istomin vs. Coric

Lukas Rosol and Sergiy Stakhovsky will kick off their Marseille campaigns on Monday. Denis Istomin and Borna Coric are also aiming for a place in the second round.

(8) Lukas Rosol vs. Sergiy Stakhovsky

Rosol and Stakhovsky will be squaring off for the fourth time in their careers and for the first time at the ATP level when they clash in round one of the Open 13 on Monday. Stakhovsky has won two of their three Challenger meetings, all of which have come on hard courts. The Ukrainian prevailed in three sets in both 2007 and 2013 before Rosol most recently scored a 5-7, 6-1, 6-0 victory last season on the hard courts of Irving, Texas.

This year has not been a good one for Rosol, who is looking to regain the form he displayed in 2014. The Czech lost his Doha opener to Ivo Karlovic, fell to Dudi Sela in the Australian Open second round, and he is coming off a 6-3, 6-1 setback against Simone Bolelli in the Rotterdam first round. Stakhovsky fared well in Rotterdam, beating Marcel Granollers and Dominic Thiem in straights then pushing Milos Raonic to three. The world No. 69 has advanced out of the opening round in four of five events in 2015. Based on current level of play and the indoor hard-court surface, Stakhovsky should enjoy a considerable edge.

Pick: Stakhovsky in 2

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(WC) Borna Coric vs. Denis Istomin

The season is not off to good start for either Coric or Istomin. Coric was one of the breakout stars of 2014, when the 18-year-old (17 at the time) reached round two of the U.S. Open as qualifier and upset Rafael Nadal en route to the Basel semifinals. A proverbial sophomore slump, however, could be in progress. Coric is 1-4 for his 2015 campaign and has not been particularly competitive in any of his losses.

Istomin, who has never faced the 85th-ranked Croat, is 2-5 for the year with a pair of wins only in Montpellier. The Uzbek otherwise lost his openers in Doha, Sydney, at the Australian Open, and in Rotterdam (succumbed to Guillermo Garcia-Lopez 7-6(5), 6-4). That was a tough draw last week against a red-hot Garcia-Lopez, but Istomin’s clean ball-striking and flat hitting can work well indoors. He should be able to keep Coric on his heels and implement offensive tactics from start to finish.

Pick: Istomin in 2

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