Events / Ben Caudell / 09 November 2010 /

Gilles Simon may have one eye on the Davis Cup final and the other on this match but that should still be enough to get past inconsistent Russian Andrey Golubev, says Ben Caudell

Andrey Golubev (KAZ) v Gilles Simon (FRA)
Home favourite Gilles Simon will be looking to improve on his current form with a win today over Russian Golubev. Victory would further his chance of representing France in December's Davis Cup final against Serbia.

The Frenchman's semi-final defeat against Marcel Granollers at the Valencia Open last week was unexpected because, until then, Simon's form had been excellent with recent wins on the indoor hard courts over the likes of Nikolay Davydenko, David Nalbandian and Fernando Verdacso.

But some of Simon's best performances come on indoor hard courts at this time of the year. The 25 year-old recorded a tournament win in Metz (France) back in September, reached the quarter finals of Beijing and Montpellier last month and the semi-finals of Valencia last week.

Thierry Tulasne, Simon and Gael Monfils coach yesterday told L'Equipe sports magazine that: "Giles arrived here....with the goal of passing the first round especially since he is a bit tired. But if he takes the matches one-by-one, he is capable of beating the big ones, i.e. Soderling in the second round"

It is understandable that Simon could be struggling a little with fatigue and will want to be fully fit for the Davis Cup, however he has had a few days rest after his semi-final loss to Granollers on Saturday and should now be raring to go.

The stats are definitely in favour of Simon, He has won nine of his last ten matches in France, and has won eight of last nine when priced as moderate favourite, whereas Golubev has lost four of his last five in France, four in a row at the Tennis Masters Series level and six of his last seven matches when priced as moderate underdog.

This will be the first match-up between the pair; On Indoor hard courts The Frenchman outperforms his opponent on both serve and return statistics as well. Simon has recorded 73% wins compared with Golubev at 55% on this surface, has a winning service points percentage of 68.2% compared with 65.7% for Golubev and has a service hold percentage of 87.4%, Golubev is lower at 84.8%, Simon also has a slightly higher return points win % 36.9% and Golubev is 36.3 %

I believe that Simon has a 70% overall predicted chance of winning this match; he is generally very consistent whereas Golubev is inconsistent and erratic. The fact that Simon is playing in front of his home supporters adds an extra incentive to do well and I believe he is worth backing at [1.45] in the match odds.

Recommended Bet:
Back Gilles Simon @ [1.45] to win
Back Simon 2-0 @ [2.12]

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