Recent St. Petersburg and Italian Open semifinalist Denis Shapovalov faces off against 14-time ATP winner Gilles Simon in this second round fixture of the 2020 Cologne Open. The match is scheduled for Wednesday, October 21 with an exact time yet to be announced. Get the live streaming options of this Denis Shapovalov v Gilles Simon match along with its preview, head to head, and tips here.
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Denis Shapovalov v Gilles Simon Head to Head
This will be the third meeting between the two players.
Denis Shapovalov brings a 2-0 head-to-head advantage coming into this match. Their most recent head-to-head was in the 2020 French Open last month, where Shapovalov won three sets to one. Their other meeting came in the 2019 Paris Masters when Gilles Simon retired with a groin injury with the players tied at 2-2 in the first set.
Also Read:
Shapovalov Coming off Solid St. Petersburg Open Run
Ranked no. 12, Shapovalov will start his run in the Cologne Open after he played his last match in St. Petersburg where he lost 4-6 6-3 6-4 to eventual tournament winner Andrey Rublev in the semifinal. That intense battle got heated, and though any loss is always hard to take, Shapovalov later admitted that there was no shame in losing to a title-deserving Rublev.
He’ll now be looking to replicate or better that run, especially since he still has slim outside hopes of making the ATP Finals. A strong run here in Cologne and in the upcoming Paris Masters could therefore be invaluable in helping him achieve a first-ever qualification for the finals.
And though his results have been mixed since tennis returned, only a few higher-rated players can boast of more consistent form than the 21-year-old. He reached the quarterfinals of the Us Open and the semifinals of the St. Petersburg and Italian Open.
Ranked as the third seed in this tournament, he should easily be able to match any of those runs. And first up for him is a player whose glory days seem to be behind him, whom he’s already bettered recently.
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Simon Seeking French Open Revenge
Gilles Simon may be a 14-time title winner, but it’s fair to say that he’s seen better days before. Now entering the veteran stage of his career, he’ll be looking to end it on a high and will be looking to avenge his most recent loss against Shapovalov in the French Open.
But his form this year has sowed doubt over this veteran status. His best run of the year saw him reach the semifinals in Marseille in the Open 13. Other than that, he’s been eliminated in the second round in four of the other nine tournaments, and in the first round in the remaining five tournaments that he qualified for.
In his most recent tournament, the other recently-concluded Cologne Open, he started on a high against Marton Fucsovics; a match that he won in straight sets without once dropping his serve and just gave up three games. In the next match, however, his usual form crept up and he lost in a close match to Roberto Bautista Agut.
In his first match in this tournament, he had a close match against Jordan Thompson. He had a more straightforward first set, but a nervy second one made him have to save the last game from two break points, avoiding a tiebreaker that could have probably gone either way.
Instead, he won that set 7-5, which gave him a straight sets win that earned him this matchup against the Canadian.
Now, he faces one of the tournament’s favorites. With his horrid 2020 record of not getting past a tournament’s second round, and coming up against an inform player, it’s almost impossible for him to get something out of this.
Shapovalov v Simon Prediction and Tip
Expect Simon’s second-round woes to haunt him again. Shapovalov has the skill, form, and desire that should help him see out his opponent with some ease in straight sets.
Tip: Shapovalov to win in straight sets: 8/15 (bet365)
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The Cologne Open 2020 will be played from October 19 to October 25. You can watch & bet on the Cologne Open here. Get your latest premium tennis predictions here.
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