The third-seeded Raonic had another fine showing at the Australian Open, as he recorded 21 aces and sent another “Gilles” – Gilles Muller – packing in the Round of 64, 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (4). It was a great revenge win for the Canadian, who lost to Muller in their previous two matchups.
For the next round, the theme could be somewhat similar. He’s 3-1 overall opposite Simon, but he isn’t the most recent victor. In their previous match – 2015 Queen’s Club tournament – Simon rallied to win after being down one set.
Raonic, being one of tennis’s elites for some time now, should be able to punch that fourth victory this Friday. He’s 19-6 in his career at the AO, and was able to reach the tourney’s semifinals last year.
Simon, too, will be coming off a strong performance. He was efficient in the second round, as he only took 96 minutes to dispatch Rogerio Dutria Silva, 6-4, 6-1, 6-1. In the round before that, he was able to do what he was suppose to do versus number 190 Michael Mmoh, 6-1, 6-3, 6-3.
As a 13-year veteran, Simon is well-experienced in the Australian Open stage. He’s currently 20-10 in his 30 appearances in the tourney, and 71-41 overall in the Grand Slam tournaments.
The underdog doesn’t have an appealing chance on Friday, but his aforementioned come-from-behind win over Raonic could be enough to make some believers out of a handful of bettors.
Additionally, Simon has career W-L card of 239-162 on a hard surface, and all of his seven titles were won on such environment.
