Gilles Simon can be proud of his entry match against the young Dominic Thiem. Focused and cautious, he undoubtedly used his experience to confuse the talented Austrian and win in 3 sets.
Argentina, the French executioner
A bit earlier in the day, the 3 Frenchmen involved against the Argentine armada unfortunately bowed out.
Edouard Roger Vasselin, opposed to Leonardo Mayer, was not far off having taken a 3-1 lead in the last set before succumbing with a score of 7 games to 5.
The battle between Nicolas Mahut and Carlos Berlocq turned in favor of the clay-courter who had already eliminated Julien Benneteau in the previous round.
As for Paul-Henri Mathieu, still recovering from a foot injury, he lost to the 7th seed Federico Delbonis.
Everything is going well, however, for the 1st and 2nd seeds of the tournament, John Isner and Ernest Gulbis, who will face seeds 7 and 5 tomorrow in two explosive quarterfinals.
For the “BIG MATCH,” we will of course see the last Frenchman in the competition, Gilles Simon, face off against Carlos Berlocq for a rematch of the match lost last year in the Davis Cup in Buenos Aires.
Julien Benneteau and John Isner meet the public.
Julien Benneteau took advantage of a quieter period in his day at the Open de Nice Côte d’Azur, between training and a doubles match alongside Edouard Roger-Vasselin, to come and greet the partners of the Open de Nice Côte d’Azur.
On his part, John Isner had great success during his autograph session in the Public Village, attracting a hundred kids, both young and old. He graciously obliged and pleased all of his fans.
“Fête le Mur” at the Open de Nice Côte d’Azur
Doubles players Eric Butorac, American, and Raven Claasen, South African, hit many balls with the children of the association “Fête le Mur” and the sports department of the City of Nice.
A closing snack delighted these young budding players, who will keep an excellent memory of it.
Two of them had the immense privilege of being chosen to later hit a few balls on the iconic central court of the Open de Nice Côte d’Azur with Leonardo Mayer, the Argentine player ranked 77th in the ATP rankings.
DAY’S PROGRAM: Thursday, May 22, 2014
Central court starting at noon
[Q] L Mayer (ARG) vs A Montanes (ESP)
[5] D Tursunov (RUS) vs [2] E Gulbis (LAT)
Not before 3 PM
[1] J Isner (USA) vs [7] F Delbonis (ARG)
Not before 6 PM
[4] G Simon (FRA) vs C Berlocq (ARG)
Court No. 1 starting at noon
M Klizan (SVK) / P Oswald (AUT) vs A Begemann (GER) / R Haase (NED)
Not before 2:30 PM
[1] R Bopanna (IND) / A Qureshi (PAK) vs [3] J Benneteau (FRA) / E Roger-Vasselin (FRA)
RESULTS: Wednesday, May 21, 2014
Singles: Second round
[1] J Isner (USA) d [Q] J Sock (USA) 6/4 6/3
[2] E Gulbis (LAT) d M Klizan (SVK) 6/7(4) 6/4 6/1
[4] G Simon (FRA) d D Thiem (AUT) 6/3 4/6 6/2
[5] D Tursunov (RUS) d R Haase (NED) 6/3 6/4
C Berlocq (ARG) d [6] N Mahut (FRA) 6/2 6/3
[7] F Delbonis (ARG) d [WC] P Mathieu (FRA) 6/2 6/4
[Q] L Mayer (ARG) d [8] E Roger-Vasselin (FRA) 6/4 3/6 7/5
A Montanes (ESP) d [LL] S Querrey (USA) 4/6 6/3 6/2
Doubles: Quarterfinals
[1] R Bopanna (IND) / A Qureshi (PAK) d D Bracciali (ITA) / O Marach (AUT) 5/7 7/6(5) 10/5
[3] J Benneteau (FRA) / E Roger-Vasselin (FRA) d M Pavic (CRO) / A Sa (BRA) 6/4 5/7 10/5
K Skupski (GBR) / N Skupski (GBR) d C Berlocq (ARG) / L Mayer (ARG) 6/1 7/6(2)
