ATP Lyon Second Round Action: Tsonga and Clement lead French surge

Lyon, France – Top seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and wild card Arnaud Clement will lead the French surge in the top half of the draw when they bid for a spot in the quarters against Olivier Rochus and Benjamin Becker, respectively. French fans already cheered one of their own, fifth seed Julien Benneteau into the Lyon quarters on Wednesday and they will be out in droves for Tsonga and Clement when they continue their campaign.

Tennis Betting Line: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga vs. Olivier Rochus

Match Time: 06:00 AM Eastern Time Thursday October 29, 2009

Tennis Betting Verdict: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga survived a determined effort by veteran Kevin Kim in the first round, edging the audacious American 7-6(5), 7-6 (5). The top seed Tsonga improved to 50-17 on the season on the back of that victory. He will return to court on Thursday and aim to open a more convincing account against Olivier Rochus for the home fans that will be packing the stadium.

Tsonga owns a 1-0 edge over Rochus having beaten the Belgian, ironically, in Lyon two years ago in the quarters 6-3, 6-2. The World No. 62 Rochus is after a modest season on the ATP Tour. He arrived in Lyon 13-7 on the season and advanced into the second round with a straight set victory over qualifier Vincent Millot 6-3, 6-2.

Tsonga should expect very little resistance from the diminutive Belgian who frankly is going to be out of his league. Therefore, tennis fans should look for the Frenchman to cruise into the quarters.

Tennis Free Picks: Tsonga in straight sets

Tennis Betting Line: Arnaud Clement vs. Benjamin Becker

Match Time: 06:00 AM Eastern Time Thursday October 29, 2009

Tennis Betting Verdict: It will be the fifth career encounter when Benjamin Becker and Arnaud Clement square off for a spot in the Lyon quarters. Clement takes a solid 3-1 all-time edge over the German Becker; the last time they crossed paths was at the 2008 Wimbledon Championships wherein Clement defeated Becker 7-6(7), 7-6(3), 6-3 in the R64. Clement doesn’t only have a good head-to-head going for him in this match but also home edge. The sticking point for Clement is that he has been off-form all season long, arriving in Lyon a meagre 9-18. Luckily, Becker is seemingly off-form as well with a 12-16 mark ahead of Lyon, making this matchup a bit of a tossup.

Clement has the ideal circumstances in which to turn things around somewhat – even at this late stage in the season. Historically, their matches have been tight. In fact, the tightest encounter was in Lyon in 2007 when Becker beat Clement for the first and only time 7-6 (0), 7-6(3). Given the fact that Clement has not lost to Becker since then he is well poised to take this match as well. 

Tennis Free Picks: Clement in three sets