Paris previews and predictions: Cilic vs. Kohlschreiber, Pouille vs. Simon

Second-round action in Paris will begin on Tuesday with a showdown between Marin Cilic and Philipp Kohlschreiber. Meanwhile, the first round continues with an all-French affair featuring Lucas Pouille and Gilles Simon.

(5) Marin Cilic vs. Philipp Kohlschreiber

Cilic and Kohlschreiber will be squaring off for the 12th time in their careers when they clash in round two of the Rolex Paris Masters on Tuesday night. Kohlschreiber owns a somewhat surprising 7-4 record in the head-to-head series, and not all of his success came before Cilic rose to prominence as a consistent top-10 player. The 35-year-old German is 2-1 in their last three encounters dating back to 2016, including a 6-4, 6-4 upset earlier this season in Indian Wells.

An extremely slow fall (1-3 record in three tournaments) has Cilic still requiring a little bit more work to do before he clinches a seemingly inevitable spot in the Nitto ATP Finals. The seventh-ranked Croat has suffered recent losses to Jan-Lennard Struff, Nicolas Jarry, and Marius Copil. Kohlschreiber is an even 23-23 for his 2018 campaign, with a defeat of Alexander Zverev en route to the U.S. Open fourth round. The world No. 43 should be able to handle Cilic’s serve on a relatively slow hard court and send Paris’ fifth seed slumping into London.

Pick: Kohlschreiber in 3

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Gilles Simon vs. Lucas Pouille

First-round action will be wrapping up with a fourth career contest between Pouille and Simon. The head-to-head series stands at 2-1 in favor of Simon, who prevailed in four sets at the 2015 French Open and via a 6-0, 6-1 beatdown at the Miami Masters before losing to Pouille 7-6(6), 7-6(4) early last season in Brisbane.

That the tide tuned in Pouille’s favor in 2017 is not surprising, as prior to 2018 he was going in the right direction whereas Simon was taking a step back. But there has been an unexpected shift of late, with a resurgent Simon coming into this event ranked one spot better than his opponent at No. 31. The 33-year-old has captured two titles, including earlier this fall on the indoor hard courts of Metz. Pouille is just 2-3 in his last five matches dating back to round three of the U.S. Open, whereas Simon is coming off consecutive quarterfinal performances in Antwerp and Basel. This should be a good opportunity for the veteran to extend his countryman’s recent woes.

Pick: Simon in 3

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