2012 French Open Day 4: Brian Baker vs Gilles Simon Preview

The 2012 French Open from Roland Garros continues on Wednesday with second-round matches featured in the men's draw. In one match that will played on Court Philippe Chatrier hometown favorite Gilles Simon will face American upstart Brian Baker.

The match promises to draw a lot of media attention despite the fact that neither player is among the favorites at Roland Garros. Simon is one of France's top ranked players in the clay-court Grand Slam, while Brian Baker is drawing all sorts of attention following his run to the ATP Nice final. The American was ranked outside of the Top 200 just a couple weeks ago, however, his momentum on tour is undeniable at this point.

Baker and Simon have never faced one another and the Frenchman is considered the favorite in the match (source: bet365). However, Baker could be underrated in consideration of who the American has beaten lately. In Nice, Baker defeated both Mikhail Kukushkin and Sergiy Stakhovsky, two players that are both into the French Open's second round.

Baker also has a recent win over Gael Monfils, a better clay-courter than Simon. Shortly after losing to Baker, Monfils announced that he was injured so it's hard to determine how to gauge Baker's win. But a straight sets victory over Xavier Malisse in the first round of the French Open does suggest that Baker is not to be taken lightly and the match against Simon promises to be tight.

My betting recommendation in the match is to back Baker on game handicaps. Bet365 has the American at +5.5 (-120, 5/6) and I think he's likely to cover that.