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Laaksonen lost to a very similar player in Mons last week

After the ATP tournament in Bogota, Viola raised the level of his tennis and somehow saved his season. He is doing well on indoor courts, and there is no doubt that there is a big challenge ahead of the young Swiss today

To say the least Matteo Viola is an interesting player, more so because he is atypical for an Italian. Although it seems that he is a typical clay court player, he merely copes on clay but prefers hard courts. Aside from his great fighting spirit he does not have any special weapons, but it is obvious that his defensive play is his best attribute.

He didn't start the season well, but the tournament in Bogota was a turning point. The Italian played in high altitude conditions, against below average competitors and went to the quarterfinals. Everything changed for the better, Challengers included. He had two good quarterfinals in a row, and then showed perhaps some of his best tennis of the season in St. Remy before the indoor tournament. After three convincing wins, he had a big breakthrough against Mathieu and got to the final. Gicquel knew how to use his extensive experience, but reaching the final further filled the Italian with confidence.

He showed that in his last ATP tournament in Bangkok, which opened the indoor portion of his season. He came through qualifying to get to the main draw, and then beat Devvarman in the first round. It was certainly a favourable draw, which was not the case in the second round, where he came up against top seed Ferrer. The Spaniard beat him easily, after which Viola was unsuccessful in the Beijing qualifiers (outdoor hard court). Now he returns to Europe and conditions which he handles well, although he plays atypical tennis for the conditions.

Laaksonen is his first challenge, a player whose game is suited to indoor tennis, but that does not mean that the Swiss is a more successful player. Quite the opposite, this is a limited player who relies on his serve, but seeing as he is quite young (21) there is still time for him to grow.

This season has been a key one for him, and he is showing signs that he belongs at this level, though he is still green. It is interesting to note that his bests results have come on clay and that he made it through the qualifiers at two ATP tournaments and used the good first round draws to his advantage. These results have meant significantly more Challenger appearances, but he hasn't had much joy on faster (indoor) courts so far.

He competed in two indoor Challengers in recent weeks, and disappointed in Mons last week when he lost to Guistino in the final qualifying round. The Italian with no special weapons, who got all of his most significant results in his career on clay, won easily and today's match could mirror that one.

Although I don't really like betting on players of Viola's profile, I have to go for the Italian's win today. There are several reasons for this, the main being his higher level and his current form. The ATP quarter-final in Bogota obviously roused him since he's had a few good challenger appearances and even showed signs of progress at the ATP level. He got through the qualifiers in Bangkok recently, followed by the first round (Devvarman) and I believe he might be playing his best tennis of the season. He's been doing well indoors and, seeing as he's chasing the ranking which would directly enable him to compete in the Australian Open next year, he shouldn't be lacking motivation. One of the reasons Viola is a safer bet is the fact Laaksonen is yet to show signs of progress playing his favourite indoors tournaments. He was defeated as soon as the qualifiers at two of these challengers and he was at his most disappointing in Mons last week, when he didn't manage a single break chance in the final round against Giustino, who favours clay. Considering all this and given Viola's win in their head-to-head this year, his celebrating with at least three games difference seems to me a completely realistic scenario.