An intriguing second-round clash between Novak Djokovic and Gael Monfils is part of Thursday’s schedule at the Australian Open. Ricky Dimon of The Grandstand and Steen Kirby of Tennis Atlantic preview four of the best matchups and make their picks.
(14) Novak Djokovic vs. Gael Monfils
Ricky: The most highly-anticipated second-round matchup when the draw was revealed has become a reality. But will it become a good match? That is far from a guarantee. Djokovic is sweeping the head-to-head series 14-0 at the ATP level, with about half of those 14 being competitive. The former world No. 1 was positively dominant in his return from a six-month layoff on Tuesday, destroying Donald Young 6-1, 6-2, 6-4. Monfils is way better than Young, but the Frenchman rarely brings his best against Djokovic. Djokovic in 3: 6-4, 6-3, 6-4.
Steen: Djokovic looked to be close enough to his best and with Monfils in great form as well, that makes this match even more interesting. The Serb dominates the head-to-head history, but streaks tend to end at some point–and unlike Young, Monfils should be able to pressure the Djokovic serve. I’m not convinced Djokovic will be fully back in the groove against a motivated and talented opponent. Monfils in 5: 6-4, 4-6, 3-6, 6-3, 7-5.
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Karen Khachanov vs. (12) Juan Martin Del Potro
Ricky: They just faced each other for the first time last week in the Auckland quarterfinals, with Del Potro getting the job done 7-6(4), 6-3. The Argentine ended up finishing runner-up to Roberto Bautista Agut–a solid first tournament of the 2018 season. Impressively, Del Potro bounced right back to beat Frances Tiafoe in straight sets on Tuesday, whereas Bautista Agut flamed out fast against Fernando Verdasco. Not unlike Tiafoe, Khachanov is of the Del Potro mold (huge-hitting, especially big forehand) but does nothing notably better than the world No. 10. Del Potro in 3: 6-3, 7-6(5), 6-4.
Steen: Del Potro looked great in round one and last week he wasn’t troubled by his Russian opponent in Auckland. It would be a monumental upset for Del Potro to fall in this match, and he looks set to make a serious run at the title. Del Potro in 3: 7-6, 6-4, 6-4.
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Hyeon Chung vs. Daniil Medvedev
Ricky: These two 21-year-olds squared off at the NextGen ATP Finals in Milan, which counts in the official records but shouldn’t. For whatever it’s worth (not much!), Chung prevailed in five sets. What is notable is that the South Korean took the NextGen title and went undefeated in the process. He is the most consistent of the up-and-comers right now despite arguably being less talented than Andrey Rublev, Denis Shapovalov, and perhaps even Medvedev. The Russian has to be tired; he captured his first ATP title last week in Sydney and needed four tough sets to beat Thanasi Kokkinakis on Tuesday. Chung in 4: 6-7(4), 6-2, 6-3, 7-6(5).
Steen: This should be a seeded matchup in slams soon enough. Chung is a steady player at this point in his career and Medvedev did not do himself any favors having to battle for four sets against an injured Kokkinakis. Chung should defeat the Sydney champion. Chung in 4: 3-6, 7-6, 7-5, 6-2.
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Jiri Vesely vs. (26) Adrian Mannarino
Ricky: This won’t make any headlines because Mannarino and Vesely quietly go about their business and never make any noise to the media. It is, however, a nice contrast in styles. Mannarino is a crafty left-hander who mixes up pace better than almost anyone. Vesely is a mostly one-dimensional big-hitter, although also a lefty. In that matchup, guile usually wins. It will likely win again in this one, as the Frenchman goes into it in overall better form. Mannarino in 4: 6-4, 6-4, 6-7(4), 6-1.
Steen: This is a fantastic chance for either player to make the third round. Vesely needs to make a run sometime soon to avoid become a young gun who lost his way. Mannarino has really upped his game in the past 12 months and a lot of the tennis world still hasn’t taken notice. The Frenchman should win this. Mannarino in 4: 6-4, 6-3, 4-6, 7-5.
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who ya got?
Mannarino in four Monfils in five Chung in five Del Po in three
N. Djokovic will defeat G. Monfils.
LOL
Not putting money on Monfils, are you?
Side note: Mackie McDonald is a beast and I cannot believe he almost beat Dimitrov.
#college
http://www.tennisexplorer.com/match-detail/?id=1643523
😂😂😂.
I wish Gael Monfils luck.
Ditto. I just kept thinking WHERE did this guy come from? Never heard of him until this tournament.
NCAA champ a couple years ago
I like Monfils in 4; JDP in 3; Medv in 4, and Mannarino in 4. That Dtrov match this morning was just awesome…wish I’d stayed up fpr S’lov and Tsonga….wow! (and Woz’ comeback…wow!)
With a long-time, 100% one-sided matchup like Djokovic-Monfils, I will truly never understand how anyone can “predict” a Monfils victory until it has actually happened at least once… It’s called guessing. It would be one thing if Djokovic was absolute garbage in the first round, but he was more than solid enough to continue the trend where Monfils can do nothing against him.
Hey, if Cornet can beat Goerges with an 0-15 record against her …. well, no. Not gonna happen.
I am not predicting a Monfils victory over Novak. I’d love to see it. I like Monfils. But I think the H2H is so lopsided that I can’t make that prediction.
I only caught the second half of it, but Novak looked decent in his match against Young. Good depth on his shots, hit some nice winners, seemed to be enjoying himself. Young didn’t provide much competition though. With all the unforced errors he made he was never going to put Djokovic under pressure, he was basically saying ‘hey, let me help you out with that comeback you’re trying to make’.
I think unless Monfils is having a bad day here he should be able to put comeback-trail Djokovic under enough pressure to nab a set. Djokovic in 4.
Delpo in 3 over Khachanov
Terrible start for Novak, he’s having big trouble with the new service motion, and Monfils leads 3-0 with the double break.
Monfils just gifted the game up 3-0. He will lose if he does stuff like that the rest of the match. I don’t get why he keeps crushing his second serve. I’ve seen him hit three double faults long because he’s going for it too much already.
Monfils has five double faults already and still up a break. I picked Monfils because I didn’t believe Djokovic would be able to handle hitting a bunch of shots for s long period of time yet, which is what Monfils does and what Young did not do. Naturally, Monfils is not doing what I thought he would. Seems like he doesn’t believe he can win this. Making stupid mistakes left and righ. Still 3-3 though
It’s 39 degrees in Melbourne this afternoon, and at this stage it looks like the heat will beat Monfils more than Djokovic himself. Monfils gave up on a heap of points late in that 2nd set, looked absolutely heat exhausted. He might even have to throw the towel here, as I don’t think the extreme heat policy is going to come into effect.
I honestly believe Monfils would have won or would’ve had a great chance to win this if the conditions weren’t so unbearable or it the AO would just close the damn roof. It’s over 100 degrees Fahrenheit. That’s ridiculous. Just delay the outside courts and continue them at night and close the roof on the main courts so you can keep playing those ones at least. I will say Monfils is struggling more than anyone else. Still awful that these players have to deal with these conditions.
Novak Djokovic is playing well but the 4th set is tough, if this goes to the 5th set it will be dangerous for Novak.
J. Benneteau is causing D. Goffin problems, this match is interesting.
I agree about the heat becoming the determining factor in this match. I have no idea why they don’t close the roof. These are the conditions in which their should.
I think Monfils had an opportunity with Novak not looking sharp early in the match. That’s why Monfils was able to take advantage in the first set. But the conditions have been horrific.
They should revise the heat policy, it’s no good that extreme heat affects the quality of matches. It becomes an endurance and fitness test more than anything else.
I do hope for Delpo vs Berdych to be night session at RLA; it’ll be more interesting than Fed vs Gasquet. Fed already has more than enough night sessions at RLA, time for him to move to MCA, day or night session. At least give Delpo and Berdych a chance to play at RLA to get a feel of the court.