Analysis for Gicquel-Gard (Bucharest)

Head-to-head record 0:0

March Gicquel of France will meet Romanian qualifier Catalin Gard in the opening round in Bucharest. Experienced Frenchman is currently far from his best form as his year´s record is pretty poor (14 wins/20 losses) and his latest perfromances on all surfaces weren´t convincing. It should be mentioned that even when his year´s best result came from clay in Casablanca (semifinals), he prefers fast surfaces. His movement is limited while the powerful serve and attacking play make him dangerous on fast surfaces. On the other hand, Catalin Gard is a very fast player who prefers clay. He is a defensive minded player and achieved all his successes at smaller tournaments on clay. This year he has already won 6 small tournaments on this surface and he showed in a good light in qualifying rounds here as well. This is going to be his first ATP event and he will be push forward by the home crowd. This will be the match of his life and we believe he is able to fight his spot in the second round. Odds at this level are surely worth considering.