Good friends and former non-stop training partners Dominic Thiem and Ernests Gulbis will contest second-round matches on Wednesday in Nice. They are set for respective meetings with Nick Kyrgios and Alexandr Dolgopolov.
(6) Nick Kyrgios vs. Dominic Thiem
Kyrgios and Thiem will be going head-to-head for the first time in their careers when the two present and future stars of the tour collide in round one of the Open de Nice Cote d’Azur on Wednesday. Both men boast 12 ATP-level match victories this season. Kyrgios’ 12th came in the form of a 7-6(5), 6-2 victory over Mikhail Kukushkin on Tuesday, while Thiem advanced one day earlier by the exact same scoreline as he dismissed Victor Estrella Burgos.
A slight edge in current form may go to Kyrgios, whose 2015 has been highlighted by a quarterfinal showing at the Australian Open, a runner-up finish in Estoril, and a third-round performance in Madrid. The 20-year-old Aussie is up to 30th in the world and will be seeded at Roland Garros. Thiem, though, will happy to play this one on clay. The 42nd-ranked Austrian has won two matches in consecutive tournaments (Munich and Rome) and last year he went on runs to the Barcelona and Madrid third rounds as a qualifier.
Pick: Thiem in 3
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Alexandr Dolgopolov vs. (3) Ernests Gulbis
Gulbis and Dolgopolov will be squaring off for the fourth time in their careers on Wednesday. Interestingly, all three of their previous encounters have come during the annual spring clay-court swing. Gulbis leads the head-to-head series 2-1, having prevailed most recently 6-3, 6-4 last year in Madrid. He also cruised 6-1, 6-4 four years ago in Monte-Carlo, while Dolgopolov’s victory came via a 6-2, 6-4 decision last season in Monte-Carlo.
Another straightforward affair can be expected thanks to Gulbis’ disastrous 2015 form. The 2014 French Open semifinalist is a laughable 1-11 on the year with a lone win over lucky loser Daniel Gimeno-Traver in Indian Wells. Gulbis is 0-4 on clay but he has at least taken sets in each of his last three matches after getting humiliated 6-1, 6-0 by Andreas Haider-Maurer in Monte-Carlo. Dolgopolov, who advanced on Tuesday by beating fellow Ukrainian Sergiy Stakhovsky 3-6, 7-5, 7-6-2, is a decent 13-9 for the season. The world No. 68 should be far too good for such an ice-cold opponent.
Pick: Dolgopolov in 2
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