We take a look at selected quarter-finals’ matches from the ATP Tour’s Open 13 taking place at Palais des Sports de Marseille.
ATP Tour 2020 | ATP 250 Series | Open 13
Palais des Sports de Marseille
Selected Quarter-Finals | Friday 21 February 2020
Danil Medvedev (2/11)
vs Gilles Simon (7/2)
Danil Medvedev enters this event as the number one seed, though he has a fair degree to prove after a middling start to the campaign. The 24-year-old Russian disappointingly dropped out of the Aussie Open in the 4th round and followed that up with a shock 1st round defeat in Rotterdam. He actually lost his first set here to Sinner before rallying admirably to claim victory. Medvedev’s dip in form has been fairly surprising after essentially dominating hardcourt tennis towards the end of 2019. He reached the finals in Washington and Canada before capturing the Cincinnati crown. He then lost in a marathon five-set epic against Rafa Nadal at the US Open. Not content with ripping up the North-American hardcourts, the Russian then won back-to-back titles in St Petersburg and Shanghai. Perhaps players have are slightly more accustomed to his awkward blend of brute strength and guile.
Gilles Simon will be looking for some ferocious home support in a bid to beat his much younger opponent this week. 35-year-old Simon has certainly enjoyed a solid career, with 14 titles to his name. He has also reached at least the 4th round of every individual Slam. But clearly, the ageing Simon is not in his prime. He has enjoyed a fairly humdrum season that seems to indicate a decline. Having said that, Simon is the type of talent who can always spring an unexpected result on you. His run to last year’s Queens final is one such example. But perhaps the biggest crutch that Simon has to lead on his form in this very event. Simon is a two-time champion, winning in 2007 and 2015. He has beaten Mayet and Bedene is comprehensive straight-sets victories. Simon is always a fierce competitor in France, reaching four further finals in Moselle and a final in Lyon.
Simon actually leads the head-to-head between these two 2-0. Their last meeting came in last year’s Queens Semi-final. So let’s look at the factors. Simon leads the head-to-head 2-0. Medvedev is in poor form. And Simon has won this event two times. There’s more than enough here to opt for a huge upset at this price.
Egor Gerasimov (129/20)
vs Felix Auger Aliassime (5/10)
You have to hand it to 19-year-old Felix Aguer Aliassime (it’s easy to forget just how young he is). The level of maturity he showed to save two match points against Herbert was commendable. Auger Aliasemme was baptized as a potential World Number One by many scribes towards the beginning of last year. He reached three finals but endured a really poor end of season hardcourt tour. But his performance in Rotterdam last week served to quell any lingering anxiety that he wasn’t suited to these surfaces (lest we forget that he reached the semi-finals in Miami last year). Though he lost comfortably to Monfils in last week’s final, it was his first ATP final on a hard court. The talented Canadian will see this as a brilliant opportunity to add to his resume.
This is an interesting one. 27-year-old Egor Gerasimov is certainly not a household name. But over the course of the last five months, he has started to show marked signs of development. Gerasimov is a hardcourt specialist, evidence by 17 appearances in ITF hardcourt finals. Towards the end of last year, he reached the semi-finals in St Petersburg. That was followed by another semi-final result at the Slovak Open. He reached his career high-ranking last week after reaching his maiden ATP Final at the Maharashtra Open. Gerasimov absolutely pounded 2nd seed David Goffin in the last round, forcing the diminutive Belgian into submission. Belarusian tennis has been dominated by women in recent times and Gerasimov is looking to readdress that gender imbalance.
Felix Auger Aliasemme won their only encounter on the Challenger Tour in 2018. I think that the Canadian will make it through this test. He is riding a hardcourt high at present and should have too much quality for Gerasimov – despite that Goffin victory.
Written by Damien Kayat for Hollywoodbets
