Stuttgart seeds Tommy Haas and Benoit Paire will kick off their weeks on Thursday. They are set for respective second-round meetings with Ernests Gulbis and Nikolay Davydenko.
(1) Tommy Haas vs. Ernests Gulbis
Gulbis and Haas will be squaring off for the sixth time in their careers and for the fourth time already this season when they clash in round two of the Mercedes Cup on Thursday. Haas leads the head-to-head series 3-2, including 2-0 on clay and 2-1 in 2013. Gulbis survived a 6-3, 4-6, 7-6(2) thriller en route to this season’s Delray Beach title before Haas prevailed 6-4, 6-7(3), 6-1 on the clay courts of Munich and 7-6(5), 6-4 on the grass courts in Halle. Their other clay-court encounter came at the Madrid Masters back in 2009, where Haas scored a 6-2, 5-7, 7-5 victory.
Both players have been in fine form for the most part this season. Gulbis caught fire this spring and built on his Delray Beach performance by reaching the Indian Wells fourth round as a qualifier. The 36th-ranked Latvian is 24-10 for the year after overcoming Marcel Granollers 4-6, 6-1, 6-1 on Tuesday. Haas is an outstanding 30-12 for the season, which includes a title in Munich, a semifinal showing in Miami, and a quarterfinal finish at the French Open. The 35-year-old German earned a first-round bye this week as the No. 1 seed. Based on home-court advantage and a slight edge in current form, Haas should be in line for another hard-fought triumph.
Pick: Haas in 3
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Nikolay Davydenko vs. (4) Benoit Paire
Davydenko and Paire will be going head-to-head for the first time in their careers on Thursday. Having slowed down ever since turning 30, the 32-year-old Davydenko is a modest 16-15 for his 2013 campaign. He reached the third round of the French Open, skipped the grass-court swing, then held off Daniel Munoz-De La Nava in his Stuttgart opener. The 43rd-ranked Russian is 5-7 on clay this season.
Paire owns 23 ATP-level match wins this season and he is in line to be seeded for a third straight Grand Slam at No. 27 in the world. The 24-year-old Frenchman reached the third round at both the French Open (lost to Kei Nishikori) and Wimbledon (lost to Lukasz Kubot). Paire got an opening-round bye in Stuttgart as the last of the top four seeds. Look no further than his recent meetings with Kubot to see that Paire is far better on a slower surface. He took care of Kubot in straight sets at Roland Garros then got clobbered by the Pole in straights at the All-England Club. Davydenko, of course, would much prefer to contest this one on a faster court.
Pick: Paire in 3
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who ya got?
I’ve already pencilled in Gulbis over Haas in 3
6-7, 7-6, 6-4
I’m also backing Davydenko over Paire in 3. Davy is a wily old so and so and Paire gets rattled too easily. Davy’s years of experience will prevail over the temperamental Benoit.
4-6, 7-5, 7-6
I thought that I made my prediction about the Gulbis/Haas match. I think it was on another topic thread. As for Davy/Paire I think it will be Paire in three sets.
It has been sad to watch the long slow decline of Davy. It seems the will to win deserted him once he had won the WTF!!!
He was hampered the following year by the wrist injury but seems never to have recovered his form.
You never know, one of these day maybe he will do a ‘Haas’.
Haas and Paire…now watch me flame 🙂
Paire with the blowout. Haas with the bagel.
Oh dear. Couldn’t have got it more wrong if I’d tried 🙁
Haas handing Ernie a bagel is too funny.