Montpellier previews and predictions: Shapovalov vs. Pospisil, Simon vs. Gasquet

It will be an all-Canadian affair when Denis Shapovalov and Vasek Pospisil square off in the Montpellier second round on Wednesday. Meanwhile, fellow Frenchmen Gilles Simon and Richard Gasquet are wrapping up first-round action.

(PR) Vasek Pospisil vs. (3) Denis Shapovalov

Shapovalov, Pospisil, and Felix Auger-Aliassime led Canada to the Davis Cup final in 2019 and the Canadians also advanced to the quarterfinals of the inaugural ATP Cup last month. But those three have been unable to avoid each other in the early rounds of traditional tournaments. Shapovalov and Auger-Aliassime have gone head-to-head in the first round of two consecutive U.S. Opens. Pospisil and Auger-Aliassime collided right away at both Wimbledon and the Montreal Masters last summer. Now it is Shapovalov and Pospisil who will be facing each other for the second time already this year when they meet again in round two of the Open Sud de France on Wednesday.

Shapovalov prevailed 6-4, 7-6(2) in Auckland, improving to 2-0 lifetime in the head-to-head series (also won in straight sets at the 2017 Guadalajara Challenger). The world No. 16 will be well-rested for this event coming off a surprising first-round loss to Marton Fucsovics in Melbourne. Pospisil already has one match under his belt in Montpellier, having begun his week with a 6-3, 6-4 defeat of Aljaz Bedene. The world No. 132 should be able to make this competitive, but Shapovalov’s service return has improved greatly under new coach Mikhail Youzhny and he will likely get too many balls back in play for a more one-dimensional opponent.

Pick: Shapovalov in 3

[crowdsignal poll=10501191]

Gilles Simon vs. Richard Gasquet

Gasquet is dominating the head-to-head series between these two veteran Frenchmen by an alarming 8-1 margin, but that is just about where the bad news ends for Simon. It is worth noting that Simon won their most recent encounter, finally getting over the hump with a 7-6(4), 6-2 victory on the indoor hard courts of Metz in 2018. More important to the 35-year-old’s chances on Wednesday is that Gasquet has not yet played a match in 2020. The world No. 58 missed all of January with a knee injury, so this marks his first match since Basel in October.

Simon is still ranked lower (by one spot at No. 59) despite his opponent’s layoff, but he is at least playing decent tennis these days. The 14-time ATP Tour title winner beat an in-form Lloyd Harris at the ATP Cup and destroyed Pablo Cuevas at the Australian Open before losing a tense four-setter to Nick Kyrgios. Simon will make Gasquet work extremely hard–probably too hard for the 33-year-old given his current rust.

Pick: Simon in 2

[crowdsignal poll=10501192]