ATP Nice Wednesday Preview

Carlos Berlocq vs. Nicolas Almagro

The Argentine took 2 hours to beat the Austrian Andreas Haider Mauder in 3 sets, it was the second win against the Austrian in as many weeks. It was a tougher match these time and Berlocq needed to break the Austrian confidence, after he won the second set he easily advanced in the second round.

He will meet Almagro for the first time, hard to see any motivation for the Spaniard in Nice with Roland Garrros near the corner.Almagro played consistently even that he didn’t excel on European clay, he has the better serve and he will dictate the rhythm from the back of the court but if the Argentine will start aggressive and will push him from the beginning Almagro might have some downs in his game, the match stays on Almagro’s racquet.

With no win since March, the Ukrainian Alexandr Dolgopolov took a deserved breath in first round in Nice wining the opening match against Volandri. But still he failed to impress landing only 43% of first serve in, even that he won a lot of points behind the serve, while on court looked good from time to time. He should keep his game against Riba who plays similar with Volandri. The Spaniard qualifier beat Rufin in first round, he likes to dictate the rhythm from the back of the court and likes the long rallies while the Ukrainian will try to finish the points quickly.

They know each other as Dolgopolov leads the head-to-head with 2-0 with both meetings on clay. The Ukrainian still has lucks on his game and he needs more matches prior to French Open. 

David Ferrer David vs. Andreas Seppi

Top seed David Ferrer will face Andreas Seppi in his first assignment on the Cote D'Azur after the Italian battled past Frenchman Edouard Roger-Vasselin. Curios decision of the Spaniard to play here after in Rome he withdrew being sidelined with a virus.

He might feel that he needs more match practice but still remains a curios decisions. The Italian won the battle against 2 players who suffered in rhythm and concentration but overall the Italian stayed more compact in key moments and managed to won the match. Ferrer is favorite to take this one if he will play at his level, Seppi still makes a lot of errors on court and needs more matches to set his shots but once more we question his motivation.

Robin Haase vs. Sergiy Stakhovsky  

After losing a tight match in qualifications against Haider-Maurer, the Dutchman entered as a lucky loser when Cuevas withdrew and won in straight sets against Lu. He didn’t play at high intensity but was enough for him to secure the win. The Ukrainian took care of the poor form of the Russian Gabashvili and won in straight sets.

Both players served well during the match but overall Haase has a better suited game for clay, he hits with a lot of power and can dictate the rhythm from the back of the court, he resists better in long rallies then the Ukrainian, but Stakhovsky has some wins over big hitters coping well the pace of his opponents beating Montanes, Isner this year and also some wins over Brands, Haider-Maurer or Kamke in his career.

Tricky match but we stick with the player who looks more consistent from the back of the court.   

Julien Benneteau vs. Pablo Andujar

French favorite and wild card Julien Benneteau took out the sixth-seeded Baghdatis at the Nice Lawn Tennis Club. Wasn’t an easy match, the Frenchman needed to bounce back in the opening set but overall he controlled the match from the back of the court while he was good on retrieving punishing the poor and predictable second serve of the Cypriot.

Since Casablanca, Andujar has only 2 wins and one of them was a withdrawal from Dimitrov in Nice, the Spaniards still looks bother by back problems.

Nothing to read in his match against the Bulgarian, Benneteau needs points mostly then his form prior to Roland Garros and he will have the upper hand once more on retrieving as still Andujar struggles here, also the Spaniard doesn’t play on the same intensity as in Casablanca.  

Adrian Mannarino vs. Tomas Berdych

Second seed Tomas Berdych will be making his Nice debut against local player Adrian Mannarino.

The Frenchman won against the Devvarman in the opening round, he didn’t excel on serve landing only 49% of first serve and saved five break opportunities from seven but he was the more consistent player from the back of the court.

Mannarino has a solid defense and can resist well in some rallies but his game isn’t suited for clay and the Czech has the power to hit through his defense.

Losing only six points in the last 2 sets, three points on each, the Latvian Ernests Gulbis managed to bounce back after he lost the opening set against Fognini.

Overall he saved 9 break points and lost his serve twice but he looked solid on serve in the last 2 sets and when he stepped on court he easily won the point. It was a perfect start for Istomin too who fired 10 aces to beat Rochus, also the Uzbekistan player was solid on serve and forehand.

The match will be won by the player who will serve consistently during the match, both likes to finish the points quickly but Gulbis has more variety in his game putting good drop shots and being more consistent from the back of the court. Tough match between 2 big hitters which are in search of their form.