Albert Montanes and Daniel Brands are set to face each other for a second time at the same tournament on Thursday in Valencia. Second-round action also features a showdown between Benoit Paire and Joao Sousa.
(LL) Albert Montanes vs. (Q) Daniel Brands
It will be rare occasion when two players go head-to-head twice at the same tournament when Montanes and Brands meet again at the Valencia Open, this time in the main draw. The two veterans previously collided in the final round of qualifying, with Brands dominating 6-3, 6-2. Montanes got a spot when fellow Spaniard and No. 1 seed withdrew on Wednesday following his title last week in Vienna. Their only prior encounter came on the clay courts of a Challenger event in 2009, when Montanes won 6-4, 4-6, 6-3.
Brands, who thought he would be facing Ferrer, had not won a single ATP tournament match since beating Ferrer early last year in Doha until he ousted Nick Kyrgios 6-4, 2-6, 7-6(3) on Tuesday. The 170th-ranked German has to be playing with a ton of confidence right now, with an upset of Kyrgios preceded by a trio of straight-set qualifying wins. He should once against overpower Montanes on this surface.
Pick: Brands in 2
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Joao Sousa vs. (5) Benoit Paire
Paire and Sousa will be going head-to-head for the first time in their careers on Thursday. An in-form Paire almost failed to book his spot in the second round but recovered from a set and a break down to defeat Norbert Gombos 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 on Tuesday. The 21st-ranked Frenchman’s recent results include a fourth-round showing at the U.S. Open, a final appearance in Tokyo, and a runner-up finish at last week’s Brest Challenger.
Sousa almost always play well at this time of year and 2015 has been no exception. Intermixed with bouts of inconsistency, the 46th-ranked Portuguese was runner-up in St. Petersburg to Milos Raonic and he also scored a strong win over Feliciano Lopez in Tokyo. Sousa opened in Valencia with a 7-6(9), 6-3 victory over Gilles Muller. Paire came out in a foul mood against Gombos, unable to find the court with his shots and incurring a point penalty for repeated unsportsmanlike conduct violations. The fifth seed would not be able to get away with such shenanigans against an opponent like Sousa.
Pick: Sousa in 3
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I am not following Valencia but Montanes is a clay courter and Brands just beat Kyrgios so based on that Brands should win, and Paire over Sousa.
Reblogged this on Tennis Abides.
Hi Ricky, longtime reader here. I was wondering how you go about choosing what matches to preview in the early rounds when there are so many matches?
in order of greatest importance: 1) best matchups, 2) players who generate the most views, and 3) players who are interesting to write about in my personal opinion
Montanes in 3 and Paire in 3
Montanes?
I don’t want to go back and change it but yeah I realized Montanes is a clay courter after making the pick so this really will probably only happen if brands plays badly
its an interesting dynamic playing the same guy twice in the same tournament. I suppose anything could happen.
Zverev. Congratulations to me.