ATP - Monte Carlo Masters Tuesday Matches Previews

Bellucci Thomaz (BRA) vs. Simon Gilles (FRA)
The Brazilian Thomaz Bellucci will look for the first win in Monte Carlo when he will meet Gilles Simon in first round. Last year he lost to Kohlschreiber while back in 2009 lost in first round of qualifications. He is from a couple of days here training, he trained with another Frenchman Chardy. Neither Simon has better record here as he is only 2/4, his wins came back in 2006 and since then is yet to win a match. "Simon is based on the strength of opponents and always counter-attacks well. He has a heavy ball with spin, and is smart." – said Bellucci. Simon played recently in Casablanca and lost against Starace, a match that normally should win but he made a lot of errors in key moments. Bellucci played more on clay this year but failed to impress but overall was more compact, the surface isn’t that fast and the Brazilian can be more effective as he hits with a lot of power from the back of the court while Simon will rely on his solid defense but he made a lot of errors against Starace.

Tipsarevic Janko (SRB) vs. Lopez Feliciano (ESP)
Spaniard Feliciano Lopez has a poor record in Monte Carlo being only 3/7, the last one is back in 2007. He is not used with the clay too much having more success on faster ground but last year he had some success reaching quarter-finals in Rome and third round in Barcelona and Madrid. Tipsarevic is 3/2 here but he didn’t participate in the last two years. He played good recently and is more used

with the clay, he has a powerful serve and good retrieving skills and with his powerful ground strokes will keep Lopez deep on the baseline and the Spaniard will not keep his same aggressiveness like on hard courts where he managed to beat Tipsarevic three times while the Serbian managed to beat him on clay. The match stay in Tipsarevic’s racquet as he is better suited for clay and played consistently recently.

After he won in Santiago Challenger and reached semi-finals in Saint Brieuc, the Argentine Maximo Gonzalez qualified into the main draw in Monte Carlo with wins over local Oger and Ramos. He served well but in some moments his serve was down as he faced 24 break points in both matches. Hanescu came after a semi-final in Casablanca where he looked a little bother on the right foot calling for trainer but still managed to push Starace in three sets. The Argentine has good retrieving skills sitting way behind the baseline and can have a rhythm on Romanian’s serve, Hanescu hit’s with more power while the Argentine is more a grinder and once more the Romanian needs to be at his best to advance further. The Argentine is slowly back at his level from a couple of years back, even that he played on Challenger level he enters with a lot of morale here.

Anderson Kevin (RSA) vs. Fognini Fabio (ITA)
After a successful hard court season, the South African Kevin Anderson comes into hi least favorite surface, clay, where he doesn’t have same impact. He is for the first time in Monte Carlo but Anderson put a lot of fight even on this surface and can be a real nut to crack in a given day. He has a powerful serve and hard hitting from the back of the court but he will not have same penetration here as the surface will negate his power, the Italian has good retrieving skills and knows how to force long rallies and force errors from Anderson. The Italian has more matches on clay this year and was in great form in Santiago reaching the semi-final and came here after a quarter-final in Casablanca.

Kohlschreiber Philipp (GER) vs. Federer Roger (SUI)
Roger Federer is playing his first clay court tournament of the season at Monaco. Federer reported that, he is hopeful to make a significant stride and feel very strong on the clay court and says that, it is the surface where he grew up on and can make a huge step forward. He hasn’t the most easier round as Kohlschreiber is a dangerous player in the early rounds beating players like Djokovic or Roddick. He has one match here as he beat Golubev in first round and overall the German moved well and looked tough on court even that made some errors which were inerrant. It will be the first match of the season on clay for Federer and will look for a solid start.

Millot Vincent (FRA) vs. Garcia-Lopez Guillermo (ESP)
French tennis player Vincent Millot scored an easy victory over Simone Bolelli of Italy, ousting his opponent in straight sets. It was more the Italian who served poor and made a lot of errors on court but credits to the Frenchman who saw the opportunity to advance in the main draw and benefit by that. Millot is a left grinder who on court who can make points from both wings, he put everything back but also goes for his shots when he see an opportunity with his forehand being the best wing. He was in average form heading to Monte Carlo but the qualifications might boost his confidence. The Spaniard came from Casablanca where he lost narrowly to Cuevas and reached the semi-finals in doubles. Garcia-Lopez has the chance to secure his second win in Monte Carlo, he is a player who likes more the fast grounds but with his powerful serve and solid baseline display is favorite to take this one, but Millot found some rhythm from the back of the court and will force a lot of exchanges here.

Montanes Albert (ESP) vs. Malisse Xavier (BEL)
Montanes is coming here having a quarter-final to defend from last year. He played good in Casablanca losing to eventual champion, he created a lot of break opportunities there but he couldn’t convert him being a little bit surprise by the aggressiveness of Andujar. They met once this year and Malisse easily won but this time the Spaniard is on his favorite surface while Malisse has more success in Challenger level on clay in recent years. The Belgian is 1/6 over the years here and even that will be warmer still conditions suits to Montanes.

Tsonga Jo-Wilfried (FRA) vs. Ljubicic Ivan (CRO)
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga rallied to beat Juan Monaco of Argentina in the first round of the Monte Carlo Masters. He was happy with the way he managed to vary his game against Monaco. "I showed a lot of determination, I had a good attitude and I was aggressive." – he said. "I chose some tactics at the beginning. I realized they were not working well, so I managed to change my tactics and play more directly. I approached the net and tried to mix up my game." A solid first round made by Tsonga and if he will keep the same level he has the upper hand against Ljubicic. H2h is 2-2 with a meeting on clay won by Ljubicic who has more experience on clay then the Frenchman but who’s level of fitness is still questionable even that he easily beat Chardy in first round. The odds are low on Tsonga but the Frenchman made a solid match and was him who came up front and didn’t wait just opponent’s errors.

Riba Pere (ESP) vs. Starace Potito (ITA)
The Italian had no response in the final in Casablanca to the aggressive style of Andujar and comes here after a busy week and the match is played in the night session when the surface will be slower then in Casablanca. Riba is a qualifier here after two tough matches against Guez and Kamke, he is used with the conditions and he knows that the Italian isn’t at his best and he will try to force a lot of rallies and moving from side to side the Italian to tire him down. Also, Starace can be a little bit demoralized that he lost another final and will not have same motivation, at least at the beginning of the match. Riba is a player who doesn’t give free points and even that his serve is not always effective is the ground game that helps him.

Rochus Olivier (BEL) vs. Berdych Tomas (CZE)
The Belgian Olivier Rochus kept his form from qualifications and advance in the second round in Monte Carlo with a win in three sets over Chela. Was a tough match with 32 break opportunities created and 15 breaks with both player being up and down in the match but playing recently on the surface was crucial and Rochus managed to advance further. He will meet now Berdych who will start slowly to became under pressure as he has some points to defend and he needs a good run in upcoming tournaments. The Czech played good in Miami reaching the quarter-finals and has a good record here reaching the semi-finals back in 2007. The Czech will need a little bit to adapt to the surface and the rhythm of the match and Rochus can benefit by some poor rhythm on serve.

Gulbis Ernests (LAT) vs. Raonic Milos (CAN)
Despite being clay and the match being played in the night session a lot of action on serve will be seen here as both are powerful servers. But was more Gulbis who impressed more in first round while Raonic beat Lllodra who struggled on court and had a lot of ups and downs putting pressure only partial, the second set. The Latvian looked in good form and he has a game suited for clay courts, he uses well the slice on this surface, better movement from the back of the court with good angles in his shots and knowing how to force long rallies. Nothing to read in Raonic’s first serve on clay, his game needs to smoother more.