No. 3 seed Casper Ruud will continue his Toronto campaign against Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the third round on Thursday, while France’s Gael Monfils looks to continue his run against lucky loser Aleksandar Vukic.
(3) Casper Ruud vs. Alejandro Davidovich Fokina
Thursday’s third-round match between Casper Ruud and Alejandro Davidovich Fokina is a showdown between former NextGen stars. Both men are 24 years old and their first meeting came at the 2019 NextGen ATP Finals (won by Ruud in five sets). Davidovich Fokina won their 2021 French Open encounter in five sets, but since then Ruud has positioned himself in the ATP top five. He is a three-time Grand Slam finalist and a frequent participant in the business end of tournaments.
Davidovich Fokina is ranked 37th in the world. He is a talented player in his own right but has not hit on the kind of consistency that Ruud has enjoyed. The Spaniard has endured a bit of a disappointing season; he won a couple matches each at Roland Garros and Wimbledon, but his match record on the year was 22-19 headed into Toronto.
Like their previous meetings, there is every reason to expect this one to go the distance.
Cheryl pick: Ruud in 3
Ricky pick: Davidovich Fokina in 3
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(PR) Gael Monfils vs. (LL) Aleksandar Vukic
Gael Monfils is back–or at least for this tournament he is. The popular Frenchman sits at world No. 276. Monfils was sidelined for many months with a series of injuries, the most recent of which was a wrist injury that forced him out of the French Open. He has been spectacular in Toronto so far, however. The 36-year-old scored an impressive win over Christopher Eubanks in the first round and then delivered an upset of Stefanos Tsitsipas in the second.
Aleksandar Vukic is experiencing his first career renaissance. The Australian made the final in Atlanta and has now earned a spot in the third round this week. He sits at a career-high ranking of No. 62 in the world. Vukic had his own set of upset wins to earn his spot in Thursday’s round of 16, as he took out No. 14 seed Borna Coric in the first round and American Sebastian Korda in the second.
While Vukic came into Toronto on a hot streak, it’s Monfils whose form has been the more impressive. Whether the veteran can continue to work some of his former magic remains to be seen, but for now–with the crowd firmly on his side and a couple matches of momentum–it’s Monfils making the headlines. Put one more in the books for La Monf.
Cheryl pick: Monfils in 3
Ricky pick: Vukic in 3
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WWW?
ADF in 3
Vukic in 3
Rudd in 3; and Monfils run comes to an end….Vukic in 2.
Well, well, well – who would’ve thought ADF would lose. It just goes to show nothing is sure thing even for the experts.
Momentum and a bit of complacency is all it takes.
Where is this Ruud against Nadal, Djokovic and Alcaraz.
Haha, I thought if I called it early I might jinx it.