The only all-seeded final of the week pits Kyle Edmund against Gael Monfils in Antwerp on Sunday. At the 250-point event in Moscow, meanwhile, Russian’s own Karen Khachanov is battling Adrian Mannarino for the title.
European Open: (1) Kyle Edmund vs. (6) Gael Monfils
Monfils is persevering through another injury-plagued campaign, but he will be in position to be seeded for the 2019 Australian Open if he triumphs at the European Open on Sunday. The 38th-ranked Frenchman retired from a U.S. Open second-round match due to a wrist injury before returning in mid-September to win the Kaohsiung Challenger. He is now one win away from his eighth career ATP title following victories in Antwerp over Ruben Bemelmans, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Vasek Pospisil, and Diego Schwartzman, surrendering just one set to Tsonga in the process.
Up next for Monfils is a second career contest against Edmund, who lost their only previous encounter 7-6(1), 6-4, 6-4 at Wimbledon in 2017. The 23-year-old Brit has only improved since then, up to No. 15 in the world with a 34-20 record this season. Edmund, who has never captured an ATP title, has advanced this week with straight-set defeats of Albert Ramos-Vinolas and Richard Gasquet (he also got a walkover from Ilya Ivashka). Experience may not necessarily be a good thing for Monfils, however, as the 32-year-old is a horrendous 7-20 lifetime in ATP finals.
Pick: Edmund in 3
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Kremlin Cup: Adrian Mannarino vs. (3) Karen Khachanov
Khachanov and Mannarino will be squaring off for the fourth time in their careers (third time at the main-tour level) when they battle for the Moscow title on Sunday. The head-to-head series stands at 4-1 in favor of Khachanov, who prevailed 3-6, 6-3, 6-1 two years ago in Chengdu and 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(9), 6-3 at the 2017 Australian Open. Mannarino’s lone victory came via a 2-6, 6-2, 7-5 decision at the 2015 Mouilleron Le Captif Challenger.
Home-court advantage in this one goes to Khachanov, and on that note he will become Russia’s top-ranked player if he beats Mannarino (the 22-year-old is currently five spots behind No. 21 Daniil Medvedev, whom he defeated 6-1, 6-7(5), 6-3 in the semifinals). Khachanov preceded that success with straight-set wins at the expense of Lukas Rosol and Mirza Basic. Mannarino punched his ticket to the title match by ousting Evgeny Karlovskiy, Marco Cecchinato, Egor Gerasimov, and Andreas Seppi. The 49th-ranked Frenchman had been in the midst of a disastrous six-match losing streak prior to this week. Mannarino is also a hopeless 0-5 lifetime in ATP finals, so that does not bode well for his chances against a red-hot Khachanov.
Pick: Khachanov in 2
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