Jeremy Chardy is in action against Bjorn Phau in the opening round of Casablanca.
It has been a poor start to 2011 from Chardy who has looked lost at times over the past few months and his place in the top 50 is in increasing jeopardy. He played extremely well in the Davis Cup last month, scoring a win over Jurgen Melzer but bizarrely he is yet to win a match on the tour this year, suffering six straight first round defeats.
He took a wildcard into this event and having achieved some fine results on clay in the past, particularly at the French Open he will be hoping he can finally kick start his season.
Phau is ranked down at 113 but he won their only previous match 6-3, 6-1 in San Jose last year. However the veteran German has been struggling himself even on the challenger circuit and he failed to make it through qualifying in Miami.
Expect a scrappy match between these two out of form players but Chardy to earn a much needed win in three sets.
