As usual, the Montpellier tournament has a distinctly French flavor to the field of players. Arthur Fils, Valentin Royer and Ugo Humbert will be in action in the first round of this ATP 250 event on Tuesday.
Valentin Royer vs. (6) Arthur Son
After – hopefully – recovering from a back injury, Fils will finally return to the field for the first time since last summer’s Toronto Masters. The 21-year-old Frenchman has not been healthy since the French Open, where he withdrew before the third round. Fils managed to win a match in Toronto before losing to Jiri Lehecka, and he hasn’t played since.
Leading the way for the world number 42 at the Occitanie Open on Tuesday is Royer, with whom he has never played. The 24-year-old Frenchman has been playing the best tennis of his career since last summer and has therefore risen to the best ranking ever: 56th. Having done well on indoor hard courts in the past, Royer should be able to victimize a rusty opponent, although it’s impossible to know exactly what we’ll see from Fils this week.
Choice: Royer in 3
(5) Ugo Humbert vs. Botic from the Zandschulp
Humbert and Van de Zandschulp will face each other for the sixth time in their careers on Tuesday. It is a nightmare for Van de Zandschulp, who has lost all five previous meetings (four on the main tour). They have never met indoors, but Humbert has prevailed on hard courts, clay (even though that is his worst surface) and grass.
This setting in Montpellier should give Humbert an even bigger advantage, as nowhere has he been more effective throughout his career than on an indoor hard court on home soil in France. The world number 38 is also playing well at the moment, having finished second in Adelaide a few weeks ago before suffering a bad draw at the Australian Open (lost to Ben Shelton in the first round). Van de Zandschulp is in decent form, but there is no indication that the 67th-ranked Dutchman will turn the tide against an opponent who has won eleven of his twelve sets.
Choice: Humbert in 2
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