Richard Gasquet got a bye straight into the second round as a lucky loser and therefore finds himself one win away from the Estoril quarters. Dominic Thiem stands in Gasquet’s way on Thursday, when another French veteran–Gael Monfils–is also in action.
(LL) Richard Gasquet vs. Dominic Thiem
Thiem and Gasquet will be facing each other for the sixth time in their careers when they clash in round two of the Estoril Open on Thursday afternoon. The head-to-head series stands at 3-2 in favor of Thiem, who has won three in a row at Gasquet’s expense since losing their first two encounters. They squared off for the first time on clay at last spring’s Monte-Carlo Masters, where Thiem prevailed 6-1, 6-4.
Surprisingly, Thiem’s comeback from a major wrist injury has failed to pick up momentum since that Monte-Carlo result. The 2020 U.S. Open champion is struggling down at 91st in the rankings and is barely winning any matches even on the Challenger circuit. Thiem at least did well to defeat Maximilian Marterer 6-1, 6-7(3), 6-4 on Monday in Estoril. Gasquet lost to Lucas Pouille in qualifying but got a spot in the main draw–and a bye–when Alejandro Davidovich Fokina withdrew. The 37-year-old Frenchman has not done anything at the ATP level in 2024, but his Challenger results have been decent. Even though Gasquet is near the end of his career, he is still more reliable than Thiem right now.
Pick: Gasquet in 3
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Marton Fucsovics vs. (7) Gael Monfils
Monfils is another Frenchman whose career appears to be coming down the home stretch, but–unlike Gasquet–he is still in great form when healthy. The Sunshine Double was especially impressive for Monfils, who reached the fourth round in Indian Wells (lost to Casper Ruud) and the third round in Miami (lost to Carlos Alcaraz). That was preceded by a semifinal showing in Doha (lost to Jakub Mensik).
Following a first-round win over Henrique Rocha (7-5, 7-5 on Wednesday), the 36-year-old meets Fucsovics for the fourth time on Thursday. All three of their previous meetings have gone Monfils’ way, including a 2019 clay-court contest at the Madrid Masters. It’s hard to see Fucsovics turning the tide in this one. The 85th-ranked Hungarian still has a losing record this season (5-6) after beating Pedro Cachin 7-5, 7-2 on Tuesday, and his game is not at all suited for clay. Count on Monfils rolling into the quarterfinals.
Pick: Monfils in 2
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WWW?
2 old French guys, each in 3
How did Monf lose . He had a decent chance of going far.
I was backing Musetti too but he lost to inspired Borges in a clay match treat.
squandered 3 MPs with passive play
Borges was very good against Musetti but after the first set he should have won ,he collapsed after that. As did Borges against Garin after a controversy.