France - Argentina

First meeting between the two men with a first tournament, first participation in the Monte Carlo tournament for the Frenchman Atman. He played his first round really well; he’s locked into that focused state he was in at Miami and at the Acapulco tournament just before Indian Wells. I’d also seen him in practice and he had already made a good impression on me, and his match confirmed that. Focused, motivated, a fighter, and making few errors in the rallies, he’s able to create, and that’s very encouraging. You’re never completely sure with him what might happen in a match, but there are a lot of positive signs. On the Argentine side, nothing very surprising: a match he wins against Dimitrov without really shining. The debate will be whether this Argentine statistical tennis will prevail in the slow conditions on the Monte Carlo courts this week. I think anything can happen in this match. If the Frenchman stays focused, he can make the difference and win in 2 sets. But the Argentine will give him a much tougher time than the American Quinn did. So, a more complicated match for the Frenchman. For the Argentine, it’s always the same. His level gauge is quite often at the same height. So I think the score of the match will vary depending on the fluctuations in the Frenchman’s level. And I think it would be better to bet a bit more on an over-games market than on the outright victory of one of the two players in this match, unless the Frenchman’s odds are very high.