Will Gilles Simon be a stumbling block?
With Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, a great French player has already retired from tennis at the French Open 2022. His compatriot Gilles Simon, who turns 38 this year, will certainly not be playing on the ATP Tour for too much longer either. However, the player from Nice is currently making another strong run and has stormed into the third round of the men’s singles.
There the Frenchman will clash with a former Grand Slam winner. Marin Cilic not only won the boys’ singles at the French Open 17 years ago. He also triumphed in the majors in 2014 when he won the US Open. With this in mind, too, the odds are swinging in the Croat’s favour in the run-up to the encounter between Gilles Simon and Marin Cilic.
Marin Cilic, however, is not exactly considered a clay court expert. The Croatian service giant clearly prefers hard courts and grass. Surfaces on which his tight service is much more difficult to defend. In view of the fact that Gilles Simon has a good return game, it could be a tight game.
We therefore see a lot of value in betting on Gilles Simon against Marin Cilic with an Asian handicap of +6.5 games. To take some risk off the ticket when placing a bet, it is a good idea to take advantage of a free bet.
Gilles Simon – Statistics & current form
Current world ranking: 158
Seeded List Position: Wildcard
The 37-year-old Frenchman Gilles Simon made his debut on the ATP Tour back in 2004. The man from Nice made it into the main draw at a total of 60 Grand Slam tournaments.
However, after he plummeted in the rankings in the last two years, also due to several injuries, and most recently had to sit out the US Open 2021, he had to qualify for the Australian Open 2022. There he failed to qualify for the first time since 2005. For the French Open, however, the local hero received a wildcard.
Won only one of the five singles on the ATP Tour in 2022
The Frenchman, who has been playing mainly on the Challenger Tour lately and has only won one of the five rated singles on the ATP Tour in 2022, made the most of this wildcard. Gilles Simon scored a surprise win in round one when he defeated the favoured Spaniard Pablo Carreno Busta 3:2.
After this five-setter, the 37-year-old left no stone unturned against Steve Johnson and booked his ticket to the third round with a smooth 3-0 victory. He could now reach the last 16 at Roland Garros for the fourth time after 2011, 2013 and 2015.
Stepped up serve game for second round
The Frenchman will have to improve his service game first and foremost. Simon was already broken nine times by Carreno Busta in the opening match, which was also due to the fact that only 57% of all first serves were received. These figures he promptly improved in the second round.
Against Steve Johnson, the first serve came 73% of the time, which resulted in only seven break chances for his opponent in total, of which he managed to fend off three balls. Against this backdrop, Gilles Simon’s betting on the 37-year-old with an Asian handicap of +6.5 games against Marin Cilic is also under a good star.
Marin Cilic – Statistics & current form
Current world ranking: 23
Position in the seedings: 20
Although 32-year-old Croatian Marin Cilic won the boys’ singles at the 2005 French Open during his junior career. However, it quickly became clear after his jump to the ATP Tour in 2006 that the faster rubbers suit him more.
As a giant of serve, the former world number three was primarily convincing on hard court. Cilic has won 20 singles titles on the ATP Tour so far – 15 of them on hard court, where he also celebrated his greatest successes to date: winning the US Open in 2014 and the Western and Southern Open in 2016.
Only lost one set in the tournament
Marin Cilic also reached the final at Wimbledon 2017 and the Australian Open 2018, but missed out on winning the title there. The French Open is the only Grand Slam tournament at which the 32-year-old has never advanced beyond the quarter-finals.
In the last three years, the end of the line was always in the second round, which the Croatian survived with flying colours this year. In his two matches against the Hungarians Attila Balázs and Márton Fucsovics he only lost one set.
With a strong service game into the third round
It should be noted, however, that the 32-year-old has lived primarily on his serve so far. His opening opponent was completely powerless and did not break a single game, before Fucsovics was only able to win two service games from the Croatian, who converted 77% of all first serves into points and also won an impressive 60% of points on his second serve.
The number 23 in the ATP world rankings is accordingly favoured going into the third round.
Gilles Simon – Marin Cilic Direct comparison / H2H record
Head to head: 6:1
Both players are old acquaintances and have already faced each other seven times on the courts of the world in the course of their careers. The balance is clearly in favour of the Frenchman, who has won six of those seven matches – including the only meeting on clay.
Gilles Simon – Marin Cilic Tip
When it comes to Gilles Simon against Marin Cilic, the prediction basically goes in the Croatian’s direction. After all, the Frenchman has increasingly disappeared into oblivion in the last two years. However, even with a view to the clear head-to-head comparison, it would be a mistake to write off the 37-year-old local hero prematurely.
A correspondingly close match between two old acquaintances is to be expected in the third round. The Asian handicap of +6.5 on the Frenchman not only covers the triumph of the man from Nice, but also many close wins for the favoured Croatian.
