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  • Simon, Monfils looking for French connection

    1/23/09 6:01 AM | Ricky Dimon
    Simon, Monfils looking for French connection Gilles Simon and Gael Monfils will aim to set up a fourth-round showdown when they take the court on Saturday. Their third-round opponents are Mario Ancic and Nicolas Almagro, respectively.

    Mario Ancic vs. (6) Gilles Simon

    It will be the second career meeting between Ancic and Simon when the two players square off in the third round of the Australian Open on Saturday afternoon. Ancic won the previous encounter 6-2, 6-7(2), 6-3 last season at the Masters Series Miami. To put in perspective how far Simon has come since then, he was not even seeded in Miami and now he is the No. 8 player in the world. Highlights from the Frechman's breakout year included titles in Casablanca, Indianapolis, and Bucharest, a runner-up finish at the Masters Series Madrid, and semifinal performances at the Masters Series Canada and year-end Masters Cup. Simon appears to be picking up right where left off, having dispatched Pablo Andujar and last remaining Aussie Chris Guccione so far this week.

    Ancic should prove to be a much tougher test; even tougher than his No. 36 ranking would suggest. Injuries have been a problem for the 6'5'' Croat throughout his career and it's a testament to his perseverence that he is still ranked even that hight. Ancic appears to be healthy at the start of this season. He won one match in Brisbane and then last week upset Tommy Robredo en route to the Sydney quarters, where he fell to Novak Djokovic. The 24-year-old has kicked off his stay in Melbourne with a four-set win over Wayne Odesnik and thrilling five-set victory over countryman Ivo Karlovic. Count on another grueling battle between two of the game's ultimate fighters, but Simon has been making a living recently on surviving epic marathons. Look for that to be the case again on Saturday.

    (12) Gael Monfils vs. (17) Nicolas Almagro

    Has any player made less noise en route to the third round than either Monfils or Almagro? Doubtful, although Almagro did go five sets in his first-round match against Nicolas Massu after winning the first two sets. The Spaniard then destroyed Fabio Fognini in round two. As usual, Almagro did plenty of damage on clay early last season but then slumped on the hard stuff later in the year. He did, however, reach the third round of the U.S. Open and had match points against Gilles Muller to reach the fourth round. Monfils, meanwhile, dismantled Martin Vassallo Arguello in his opener this week before knocking out Stefan Koubek in four sets, but again with little difficulty. Like Simon, this Frenchman is also carrying over some serious momentum from 2008 into 2009. He reached the quarterfinals of the Olympics and the fourth round of the U.S. Open prior to a stellar indoor swing. Already this year he has an upset of Rafael Nadal (in Doha, Qatar) under his belt.

    This is the third career encounter between Almagro and Monfils, and the first two resulted in expected fashion--Almagro won the first meeting on clay and Monfils returned the favor on hard courts in last summer's Olympics. The hard courts of Melbourne, although slow, should give Monfils enough of an advantage to take this in either three or four sets. Given the form Monfils has been showing of late, it's hard to imagine Almagro giving him significant trouble on any surface other than clay.

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