Australian Open R3 previews and predictions: Monfils vs. Kohlschreiber, Thiem vs. Paire

Fellow Frenchmen Gael Monfils and Benoit Paire are through to round three of the Australian Open, but they could have tough matches on their hands on Saturday. Monfils is facing Philipp Kohlschreiber, while Paire is going up against Dominic Thiem.

(6) Gael Monfils vs. (32) Philipp Kohlschreiber

Both Monfils and Kohlschreiber were injury-plagued question marks heading into the Australian Open. One, however, will find himself in the second week by the time competition ends on Saturday. The two veterans will be facing each other for the 15th time in their careers when they meet again during third-round action. Monfils is dominating the head-to-head series 12-2 and has won nine of their last 10 encounters, including four in a row. They squared off once last season, when the Frenchman scored a 6-3, 6-2 victory on the indoor hard courts of Rotterdam. Kohlschreiber last beat Monfils on the grass of Stuttgart in 2013.

Monfils withdrew from the World Tour Finals after two matches because of a rib injury and did not play any of the warmup tournaments this month. But the No. 6 seed is off to a strong start in Melbourne, having dropped only one set in convincing defeats of Jiri Vesely and Alexandr Dolgopolov. Kohlschreiber also surrendered just a single set during his first two matches, as he mostly cruised past Nikoloz Basilashvili and Donald Young. The 33rd-ranked German has rebounded nicely from a disconcerting withdrawal last week in Sydney, where he reached the quarterfinals before being forced out with a back issue. Assuming Monfils is 100 percent–or even if both players are 100 percent–the world No. 6 should maintain his mastery of Kohlschreiber.

Pick: Monfils in 3

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(8) Dominic Thiem vs. Benoit Paire

A showdown between Paire and Fabio Fognini on Thursday night went just about how anyone could have guessed. In other words, it was predictably unpredictable. Wild momentum swings were the norm before Paire pulled out a 7-6(3), 4-6, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 victory. The 47th-ranked Frenchman preceded that result by getting a retirement from Tommy Haas with a two-set advantage in hand.

Up next for Paire on Saturday is a first-ever meeting with Thiem. The eighth-ranked Austrian admittedly played way too much tennis last season and earlier this month it looked like the offseason did nothing to cure his physical burnout. Thiem lost early in both Brisbane and Sydney, but he is back on track this fortnight. Thiem is through to the last 32 thanks to four-set wins over Jan-Lennard Struff and Jordan Thompson. A favorable draw continues in the form of Paire, who has done nothing over the past year to suggest he is ready to produce another Grand Slam upset like he did against Kei Nishikori at the 2015 U.S. Open.

Pick: Thiem in 3

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