R2 previews and picks: Gasquet vs. Gulbis, Rosol vs. Klizan

Richard Gasquet will be contesting his first match of the season when he takes the court against Ernests Gulbis on Wednesday in Montpellier. In Sofia, meanwhile, Lukas Rosol is facing Martin Klizan.

(1) Richard Gasquet vs. Ernests Gulbis

Gasquet was last seen on the practice courts of London, where he was an alternate at the World Tour Finals. The 10th-ranked Frenchman’s bid for a return trip to the year-end championship either as an alternate or a participant has begun behind the eight ball due to a back injury. Gasquet did not play at all in January and he earned a first-round bye as the top seed at the Open Sud de France, so his first match of 2016 will come on Wednesday.

Up first for Gasquet is a fourth career meeting with Gulbis. The Latvian trails the head-to-head series 2-1 but most recently thrashed Gasquet at a different indoor hard-court tournament in France, two years ago in the Marseille semifinals. Gulbis had not won a match this season prior to Tuesday, when he rolled over wild card Quentin Halys 6-4, 6-3. The world No. 82 turned in a surprisingly clean performance, so he may finally be playing with some confidence. As a result, and because Gasquet is a question mark, this one should be competitive. But Gulbis will likely run into far more pressure-packed moments than he did against Halys and it remains to be seen how he handles those situations.

Pick: Gasquet in 3

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(7) Martin Klizan vs. Lukas Rosol

Klizan and Rosol will be going head-t0-head for the second time in their careers at the ATP level and for the third time overall on Wednesday. Rosol has won both of their previous encounters–first via a three-set decision at a 2009 clay-court Challenger event and most recently last year at the Indian Wells Masters (4-6, 6-0, 6-3).

Both men are off to strong starts at the inaugural Sofia Open. Klizan took care of Bulgarian wild card Alexandar Lazov 6-3, 6-0, while Rosol edged Robin Haase 3-6, 6-3, 6-4. It was an especially much-needed win for Klizan, as the seventh-seeded Slovak had been 0-3 on the season and coming off a tough five-set setback against Roberto Bautista Agut in Melbourne. Rosol, on the other hand, is a solid 6-3 for his 2016 campaign with a third-round appearance at the Aussie Open. Current form combined with the indoor surface point to a victory for the 46th-ranked Czech.

Pick: Rosol in 2

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