Frenchmen Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Gilles Simon will be bidding for third-round spots in Rome on Wednesday. They are set for respective meetings with Jerzy Janowicz and Mikhail Youzhny.
(8) Jo-Wilfried Tsonga vs. Jerzy Janowicz
Tsonga and Janowicz will be going head-to-head for the first time in their careers when they collide in round two of the Internazionali BNL d’Italia on Wednrsday afternoon. Tsonga does not have any particularly memorable wins in 2013 (although he came back from the brink of defeat twice en route to the Marseille title), but he has been extremely consistent. The eighth-ranked Frenchman has quarterfinal results from the Australian Open, Indian Wells, and Madrid, plus an additional semifinal in Monte-Carlo. Tsonga is 20-7 for the season, including 7-2 on clay.
Janowicz is not quite up to a ranking that will seed him at smaller Masters events, so he had to contest a first-round match on Monday. The 22-year-old Pole got past Santiago Giraldo 7-5, 6-2 to improve his record for the season to a modest 11-9. Janowicz is coming off a second-round showing in Madrid, where he beat Sam Querrey then lost to Tomas Berdych in three sets.
This huge-hitting matchup would undoubtedly feature very few breaks of serve on an indoor hard court or any kind of fast surface. On clay, at least a couple of service donations can be expected. Tsonga’s return is normally the weak point of his game, but he is playing with confidence right now and all aspects of his arsenal are working. Based on current form and more experience on this surface, the edge has to go to Tsonga.
Pick: Tsonga in 2
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Mikhail Youzhny vs. Gilles Simon
Simon and Youzhny will be squaring off for the 10th time in their careers when they do battle on Wednesday. Youzhny leads the head-to-head series 7-2, but Simon won their only previous clay-court encounter 3-6, 6-3, 6-1 two years ago in Hamburg. They have not faced each other since.
A decided edge in current form goes to Simon, who improved to 21-12 for his 2013 campaign with a hard-fought, three-set win over Filippo Volandri on Tuesday. Youzhny is still a poor 10-11 for the season, but he may be heating up on clay. The 30-year-old Russian advanced two rounds in Madrid and he upset Tommy Haas 6-4, 6-3 in his Rome opener. Youzhny’s past history against Simon is encouraging, but he simply is not the same player he was when he once surfaced inside the Top 10. Look for the Frenchman to get through this one in three sets.
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