Analysis for Safin-Ascione (ATP Paris)

Head-to-head record 1:0

Home qualifier Thierry Ascione will play Marat Safin in his farewell match. Safin is one of the most talented players of this decade but the lack of consistency is described as his ultimate weakness. He is known for his emotional outbursts during matches, and has smashed numerous rackets. He frequently verbally berates himself for lost points and this usually leads to even deeper crisis. With Marat you never know but it seems he is not fully focused on tennis anymore. This is most probably his last tennis tournament and even if he is a player of exceptional qualities, we don’t see him as such a big favourite. Safin's game is based around his physical size and strength to outplay his opponents generally with big strokes and pace. He has excellent footwork and footspeed on all surfaces unlike other players of his height. He possesses a very powerful all-round game that is capable of defeating most opponents on virtually any surface. His mental condition is however a key point for his game. His opponent will be the home qualifier. Ascione´s YTD record isn´t impressive but he has always played 100% percent better tennis at home tournaments. He shined at qualifiers here and should be confident for this one. He is able to compete on all surfaces and even when his best results come from clay, he has already shown some good appearances on faster surface as well. He has a solid serve and pretty good baseline play. Sometimes he lacks the power of shots and his movement is limited though but we still think he shouldn’t be such a big dog in the match against Safin. Odds above 2.5 can be taken here.