On this Wednesday, there will be a strong presence of French players on the courts of the Nice Lawn Tennis Club, although the local audience will miss Gaël Monfils due to his right ankle injury.
Édouard Roger-Vasselin, Nicolas Mahut, and Paul-Henri Mathieu will face Leonardo Mayer, Carlos Berlocq, and Federico Delbonis, respectively, in a small rematch of the 2013 Davis Cup quarterfinal between France and Argentina. As for Gilles Simon from Nice, seeded 4th, he will enter the tournament against the dangerous Dominic Thiem for the “BIG MATCH” at 6 PM.
Let’s hope this Wednesday will be more favorable for the French players, as today was tough for them. Julien Benneteau put up a good fight against the clay-court specialist Carlos Berlocq but eventually succumbed, possibly lacking the energy after his Sunday victory at the Bordeaux Challenger.
As for Kenny De Schepper, he fell at the first hurdle against the American qualifier Jack Sock, who will have the opportunity to face his friend and compatriot John Isner, seeded number 1.
Note the entry of the second seed Ernest Gulbis and the clash between defending champion Albert Montanes and the giant Sam Querrey, a worthy replacement for Gaël Monfils.
DAILY SCHEDULE: Wednesday, May 21, 2014
CENTRAL COURT starting at 11 AM
[1] J Isner (USA) vs [Q] J Sock (USA)
Not before 1:30 PM
[8] E Roger-Vasselin (FRA) vs [Q] L Mayer (ARG)
M Klizan (SVK) vs [2] E Gulbis (LAT)
Not before 6 PM
[4] G Simon (FRA) vs D Thiem (AUT)
COURT NO.1 starting at 11 AM
A Montanes (ESP) vs [LL] S Querrey (USA)
C Berlocq (ARG) vs [6] N Mahut (FRA)
[WC] P Mathieu (FRA) vs [7] F Delbonis (ARG)
[5] D Tursunov (RUS) vs R Haase (NED)
COURT NO.5 starting at 1 PM
[1] R Bopanna (IND) / A Qureshi (PAK) vs D Bracciali (ITA) / O Marach (AUT)
Not before 3 PM
After Suitable Rest – [3] J Benneteau (FRA) / E Roger-Vasselin (FRA) vs M Pavic (CRO) / A Sa (BRA)
C Berlocq (ARG) / L Mayer (ARG) vs K Skupski (GBR) / N Skupski (GBR)
RESULTS: Tuesday, May 20, 2014
Singles – First round
[Q] J Sock (USA) d K De Schepper (FRA) 6/4 6/2
D Thiem (AUT) d S Johnson (USA) 3/6 7/6(5) 7/5
C Berlocq (ARG) d J Benneteau (FRA) 6/1 4/6 6/3
R Haase (NED) d F Volandri (ITA) 6/3 6/2
M Klizan (SVK) d B Tomic (AUS) 4/6 6/3 6/4
Doubles – First round
[1] R Bopanna (IND) / A Qureshi (PAK) d M Ebden (AUS) / D Tursunov (RUS) 6/4 6/4
K Skupski (GBR) / N Skupski (GBR) d [2] J Rojer (NED) / H Tecau (ROU) 7/5 5/7 10/6
[3] J Benneteau (FRA) / E Roger-Vasselin (FRA) d R Junaid (AUS) / M Venus (NZL) 7/6(5) 6/2
A Begemann (GER) / R Haase (NED) d [4] E Butorac (USA) / R Klaasen (RSA) 7/6(6) 6/4
D Bracciali (ITA) / O Marach (AUT) d G Monfils (FRA) / B Paire (FRA) 6/4 6/7(3) 10/2
M Klizan (SVK) / P Oswald (AUT) d [WC] H Lee (TPE) / C Wang (TPE) 6/3 6/4
C Berlocq (ARG) / L Mayer (ARG) d [WC] S Devvarman (IND) / P Raja (IND) 6/2 6/4
