Analysis for Blake-Simon (ATP Madrid)

Head-to-head record 2:0

American rocket James Blake will face Gilles Simon of France in the battle for third round spot in Madrid. Blake hasn´t been too convincing lately and actually hasn’t played a match since US Open. He has been producing incredibly high number of unforced errors in latest matches and had a very low percentage of the first serve. This is just his hit-or-miss style of play - he shoots killing shots almost from everywhere trying to finish the rally as soon as possible. This is something he has been very successful with in past, especially on US hard courts. When he has his day, he is almost unbeatable. Numerous unforced errors are usually accompanied by many winners and he wants to play a spectacular tennis all the time he is on court. On the other hand, he is 0-4 on this venue and lacks the match practice within these conditions. Gilles Simon is coming off several indoor matches and should be better prepared for this clash. After the successful year he must be confident. Simon is a defensive baseliner who plays his best on slow courts but we think he will be competitive against American. Odds above 2 are good enough for us.