ATP Open Sud de France 2020: Day 3, Schedule, Preview, Prediction, and Order of Play
The 2020 edition of the Open Sud de France began at the Arena Montpellier on February 3, and despite a few high-profile withdrawals boasts of a strong field.
Defendin champion Jo-Wilfried Tsonga will not be in action this time around while Stan Wawrinka and John Millman - who stretched Roger Federer before losing the marathon five-setter at Melbourne Park last month have also withdrawn from the event.
Nevertheless, the indoor hard court tournament which is part of the ATP World Tour 250 series does feature Frenchman, Gael Monfils, David Goffin of Belgium, Denis Shapovalov of Canada and Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria all of whom find a place in the ATP's top twenty list and all of whom have received a bye into the second round.
Frenchman Richard Gasquet plays his first match of the season after having missed the Australian Open 2020 owing to injury and will be up against countryman Simon Gilles who lost to Nick Kyrgios in the second round at Melbourne Park.
Gilles, who has a career-high ranking of world no. 5, has lost to his opponent 9 times in the past but has the benefit of playing a Grand Slam while Gasquet has not been in action since last October.
World No. 16 Denis Shapovalov who is the third seed at the Open Sud de France 2020 will face compatriot Vasek Pospisil.
Both Canadians lost their first-round matches at the Australian Open last month and Shapovalov who is Canada's highest-ranked player will be looking to extend his winning run over Pospisil after having beaten the 29-year-old at the Auckland Open 2020.
Adrian Mannarino of France meets Alexei Popyrin of Australia while Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov squares off against Gregoire Barrere of France.
Alexei Popyrin made it to the third round at Melbourne Park last month before losing to Daniil Medvedev while Mannarino bowed out in the first round against eventual runner-up Dominic Thiem.
Grigor Dimitrov failed to get past Tommy Paul of the USA in the second round of the Australian Open but will be expected to prevail against Barrere.
Another Frenchman, 21-year-old Ugo Humbert, seeded eighth at Montpellier takes on Spaniard, Feliciano Lopez who is a former world. no. 12.
Humbert won the title at the Auckland Open 2020 but failed to carry his winning momentum to Melbourne, going down to John Millman in the first round.
Here is the ATP Open Sud de France Schedule for Day 3:
Adrian Mannarino vs Alexei Popyrin - Approx 16:30 (IST)
Prediction: Adrian Mannarino to win in three sets
Ugo Humbert vs Feliciano Lopez - Approx 18:30 (IST)
Prediction: Ugo Humbert to win in two sets
Richard Gasquet vs Simon Gilles - Approx 19:50 (IST)
Prediction: Simon Gilles to win in three sets
Grigor Dimitrov vs Gregoire Barrerre - Approx 23:30 (IST)
Prediction: Grigor Dimitrov to win in three sets
Denis Shapovalov vs Vasek Pospisil - Approx 00:50 (IST) on Thursday
Prediction: Denis Shapovalov to win in three sets