ATP St. Petersburg Open: Safin and Gasquet collide in the first round

St. Petersburg , Russia – Russian Marat Safin will open his St. Petersburg campaign on Wednesday night against Frenchman Richard Gasquet. The Russian fans will be out in droves to support one of their own, Safin, a two-time Grand Slam champion and former world No.1 no less. But it isn’t a secret that he has been struggling all season long, seemingly unmotivated and frustrated at the same time. So will he be able to give them something to cheer about or will he go out on another collective groan.

Safin is set to retire his racquet at the end of the season, which isn’t too far away now but far enough for him and his supporters to have to endure more than a few ignominious moments. It has been a rather underwhelming season for Safin and that is putting it kindly. He is 15-20 on the term. His best runs, if they can be called that, came in Los Angeles and Beijing when he managed to finish in the quarters. Safin has not been past the quarters in any event this season, not even last week in his home event in Moscow. His prospects in St. Petersburg don’t look better.

Gasquet has had his own share of woes this season and not just his struggles in tournaments. Gasquet came off a drug-related suspension in September after sitting out for almost six months of the season while his case was being heard. When he was finally allowed to return to the game he opened his second account on the season on a first round exit at the US Open (l. to Nadal). He bounced back with a semi finish in Metz and a quarterfinal finish in Kuala Lumpur before stumbling in the second round of Tokyo and the first round of Shanghai.

Tennis Betting Line: Marat Safin +115 Richard Gasquet -155

Match Time: 2:00 P.M. Eastern Time Wednesday October 28, 2009

Tennis Betting Verdict: In spite of enjoying a lopsided return to ATP level play Gasquet comes into this match as the slight favourite at -155. This is more a reflection of Safin’s struggles on the season than any real clout Gasquet might currently have. Gasquet doesn’t really have consistent form going his way and he can’t have much confidence either after all he has gone through this season. He has one thing going for him and that is a 1-0 edge over Safin in 2009 after beating him in Dubai earlier this year. He does however trail 2-3 lifetime against Safin and since kicking off his second account on 2009 at the US Open, he has gone 6-5 in tournament play. Overall, he is 20-13 on the season.

Safin enters this match as the underdog at +115. Understandable after the season he has had and his inability to punch above his weight class in the market. While form has certainly been an issue for Safin this season he has one thing going for him in this match and that is home edge. The fans will be firmly behind him. Furthermore, he has the slight 3-2 all-time edge over Gasquet in head-to-heads. Counts for something, surely – even if it has been some time since he beat Gasquet at Lyon in 2006.