Montpellier R2 previews and picks: Simon vs. Brown, Paire vs. Mathieu

Dreddy

Dustin Brown will contest his fourth match of the week when he faces Gilles Simon on Thursday in Montpellier. Second-round action also features fellow Frenchmen Benoit Paire and Paul-Henri Mathieu.

(3) Gilles Simon vs. (Q) Dustin Brown

One of the most glaring contrast in styles in all of tennis will be on display when Simon and Brown go head-to-head for the third time in their careers at the Open Sud de France on Thursday. Simon is arguably the tour’s most consistent player and he famously coaxed Novak Djokovic into 100 unforced errors in their five-set match during fourth-round action at the recent Australian Open. Brown is shot-maker who keeps points shorts with both incredible winners and mind-numbing unforced errors. So far it is Simon who has been getting the best of this intriguing matchup, with wins six years ago in Stuttgart (in a third-set tiebreaker) and later that fall on the indoor hard courts of Metz (6-3, 6-4).

It has already been a stellar week for Brown, who qualified for the Montpellier main draw with three-set defeats of Mischa Zverev and David Guez. The 133rd-ranked German followed that up with a 7-5, 7-5 victory over Steve Darcis on Tuesday. Simon, on the other hand, is contesting his first match of the tournament after earning a bye as the No. 3 seed. Simon is a mediocre 6-5 lifetime in Montpellier with one trip to the semifinals (2012). With home-court advantage and game-plan that should work well against the underdog, Simon is likely to advance through what should be an entertaining affair.

Pick: Simon in 2

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Paul-Henri Mathieu vs. (4) Benoit Paire

Paire and Mathieu will also be going head-to-head for the third time in their careers when the two Frenchmen collide again on Thursday. They faced each other twice last season, with Paire coming out on top each time. He got a retirement from Mathieu in Marseille (Paire won the first set 6-4) before prevailing 6-2, 1-6, 6-1 in the semis of the Mouilleron Le Captif Challenger, also on indoor hard courts.

Mathieu booked his spot in the last 16 of this tournament by taking out Elias Ymer 6-1, 6-4 on Tuesday. The 34-year-old, who registers at 93rd in the rankings, lost in the Doha second round (to Jeremy Chardy) and in the Australian Open first round (to Guillermo Garcia-Lopez) last month. Paire was outstanding for much of the second half of 2015, but he is a mediocre 3-3 so far this year. Montpellier’s fourth seed should be able to ride his backhand to a victory, but his mental state appears to be fragile yet again and he may make life hard on himself before ultimately getting the job done.

Pick: Paire in 3

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29 Comments on Montpellier R2 previews and picks: Simon vs. Brown, Paire vs. Mathieu

  1. ALLEZ DUSTIN!! Finally he makes a semi. Hard to believe he never has. I remember one time he beat Rafa in Halle but lost in the QF 16-14 in the third set breaker to Kohlschreiber. I hope Dreddy somewhat fulfills his potential this year and hits top 50 at least. Same with monfils. I would say if Dreddy keeps it up he can win title with monfils and Cilic both out as well. Not saying he is going to but I think he has a good chance. Vamos!!!!

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