Mikhail Youzhny faces Gilles Simon in the pick of the second round clashes in Marseille.
Simon is climbing his way back up the rankings after a few injury disrupted seasons. The Frenchman is unlikely to remain unseeded in these events for long if he keeps up his start to 2011. He won the Sydney title last month and pushed Roger Federer mightily close at the Australian Open producing the kind of tennis which saw him climb to six in the world during a stunning 2008 season.
He began well this week with a 7-6, 6-4 win over Nikolay Davydenko, inflicting the Russian's fourth successive defeat. His compatriot Youzhny should be more competitive. The third seed traditionally performs well at this time of the year and was unlucky to draw Robin Soderling in the Rotterdam quarters last week.
Youzhny's start to the year has been solid but unspectacular and he will be keen to show his mettle this week. He has an incredibly good record against Simon, winning all six of their past matches, including a 6-4, 6-4 win in Toronto last summer.
It's tempting to back Simon going by recent form but with that record Youzhny clearly enjoys the match-up.
