Analysis for Robredo-Gicquel (Lyon)

Head-to-head record 1:0

2007 New Haven (hard) Robredo-Gicquel 6:4,6:4

Marc Gicquel will challenge experienced Spaniard in the first round in Lyon. Frenchman is going to defend last year´s final and Robredo will be the first hurdle on his way. Gicquel loves playing indoors and especially Lyon is his favourite venue. He played here twice and has an overall record 6 wins-2 losses. Naturally, Robredo will be the favourite in this match but we think that home player can be competitive tonight. He is good at serve and volley tennis which is perfectly suited to this surface and despite of unconvincing latest results, he has been playing a solid tennis during the last weeks. He made it through the qualifiers in Madrid to be beaten by Ancic in the first round. But this match was closer than it the final result says. Gicquel made several bad decisions in the most important rallies and paid the big price for them. Nevertheless, Ancic played in a great shape and it wasn´t a shocker, neither the shame for Gicquel. We should also mention the only match he has played with Robredo so far. Robredo won in straight sets but only by 7 points in total and the match was highly influenced by Gicquel´s nervousness in key moments. Spaniard was eliminated in the first round by Del Potro at home in Madrid which surely doesn’t increase his self-confidence. Robredo is known for being able to hit heavy groundstrokes from both wings but he is a defensive-minded player who rally on great movement and baseline play. That is why he prefers the slower surfaces. We expect a tight match and see some value on Gicquel´s side.