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Both struggling with form at the moment

Pospisil has lost in the first round 12 times this year and Chardy cannot be happy with his form either. The Frenchman has also done badly on European clay court, while the Canadian once against disappointed everyone last week in Washington

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Pospisil had big plans ahead of this season and even said he would put doubles on the back burner to focus more on singles and try and get into the Top 20. He was right to be optimistic as he proved to be able to record a good result last season even at the greatest of tournaments (Wimbledon QFs). However, nothing he wished for came through in the end. On the contrary, we can conclude that he has taken a step back after twisting his ankle very early in the season, which was the start of his injury struggles. 

As for the results, we need to note that he lost first round matches at 12 tournaments and has managed to put together straight wins only in qualifiers. Things have not been good for him, especially in the last few months. It's no wonder he is very close to exiting the Top 100. After Wimbledon and the defeat to Ramos, Pospisil went to America but things haven't changed. He first pulled out of Newport with a back injury and then lost to Sugita last week in Washington after winning the opening set 6-1. Things are overall not good for Vasek ahead of this home tournament. This will be his 3rd attempt at a good result here after just one win the last two times. 

Jeremy Chardy cannot be happy with his form this season either. Known mostly for his unpredictability, this Frenchman has managed to record straight wins 5 times this season but that was about it. There were not major slips but there were also no brilliant wins, which is starting to affect his ranking. 

He managed to reach 4 quarterfinals on hard court but also has two defeats in close matches and a few slips. We also have to note that he hasn't played in those conditions since late Match and that his last tournament was in Umag (Europe) on clay court. His unpredictability was on show once again there as he dropped just 2 games in the first match, while managed to get just 4 in the second one. Berlocq is, granted, a more dangerous opponent than Cacic but Jeremy seemed totally uninterested in that match. The Argentine basically just had to wait around for his mistakes. Chardy finished the match with 35 unforced errors. 

It seems like we have a clash between two players of rather low confidence and bad form. Pospisl should be extra motivated since he's playing home but let's not forget Chardy has had one quarterfinal here. This will be their 1st ever head-to-head meeting.