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2/24/11 4:20 AM | Ricky Dimon
Gilles Simon and Richard Gasquet will do battle in Dubai on Thursday. Tomas Berdych and Philipp Petzschner are also looking for a spot in the semifinals.
Gilles Simon vs. Richard Gasquet
Simon ended his winless streak against Mikhail Youzhny on Tuesday--now he will look to do the same at Gasquet's expense on Thursday when the two Frenchmen square off in the quarterfinals of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships. Gasquet is dominating the ATP-level head-to-head series 4-0, including 2-0 on hard courts. Their last ATP encounter came two years ago in Sydney, where Gasquet prevailed 6-4, 6-4.
The tide could turn, though, because Simon is in fine form at 9-4 for his 2011 campaign. He won the Sydney title and took Roger Federer to five sets at the Australian Open. Following his win over Youzhny (against whom he was previously 0-7), the world No. 33 trounced qualifier Lukas Rosol on Wednesday. Gasquet has taken out Grigor Dimitrov and Sergei Bubka so far this week. The world No. 28, 7-4 on the year, is a better shot-maker than Simon but is also more inconsistent. Look for a more solid Simon to get his first win over Gasquet in three sets.
Philipp Petzschner vs. (3) Tomas Berdych
Petzschner and Berdych will be facing each other for the fourth time in their careers when they meet in quarterfinal action on Thursday. If their three prior encounters are any indication, the Dubai faithful will be in for a good one. Berdych leads the head-to-head series 2-1, but all three have gone the distance. Berdych won 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 two years ago in Washington and 7-6(8), 6-7(7), 6-4 that same summer in Cincinnati, but Petzschner got revenge last year with a 1-6, 6-3, 6-4 victory on the clay courts of Munich.
Both players are in the midst of fine showings in Dubai; Petzschner has taken out Andreas Seppi and Philipp Kohlschreiber (both in three sets) while Berdych has dismissed Jeremy Chardy and Nikolay Davydenko (both in straights). For Petzschner, who was 3-6 for the season heading into this week, it is an impressive turnaround. For Berdych, now 12-3, it is just more of the same. Expect another close affair, with the seventh-ranked Czech pulling out a win after two tight sets.
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Gasquet played impressively; shame for Simon his H-to-H still remains at 0 for his end.
smr , 2/25/11 12:17 AM
Kryptonite for the kryptonite. lol.
smr , 2/25/11 12:19 AM
Strange right, against Fed it's 2-1, but against Gasquet it's 0-4! Well probably the four losses may be before and after Simon's good run in late 2008 when he became a top ten guy. During that period, Simon was so impressive that he managed to beat the top three guys. If Gasquet played him then, he might also have beaten Gasquet.
To me that period in 2008 was the best for Simon, he won three titles then. Right now, he's about 90% of that level and Gasquet happened to play one of his best matches that I saw him
played in this match. Well done to Gasquet, his SHBH was simply unbelievable, truly a weapon, it hardly break down. Fed's may have it's variety but in terms of beauty and dependability, I'll go with Gasquet's. Fed can shank his backhand at times but Gasquet hardly shank his. Anyway, if Simon were to meet Fed, I think he won't beat Fed this time, as only when at his best then he can beat Fed.
luckystar , 2/25/11 3:13 AM
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yessss hope so, lets go simon!
mriiidula , 2/24/11 11:44 AM