The first two ATP tournaments of the year could be won by their respective top seeds on Sunday. Rafael Nadal is facing Maxime Cressy in Melbourne, while the Adelaide final pits Gael Monfils against Karen Khachanov.
Melbourne: (1) Rafael Nadal vs. (Q) Maxime Cressy
Nadal is one win away from beginning his 2022 campaign on exactly the right foot. After missing most of the second half of last season because of a foot injury, the 35-year-old Spaniard is through to the final of the Melbourne Summer Set with straight-set victories over Ricardas Berankis and Emil Ruusuvuori. Nadal also earned a first-round bye as the No. 1 seed and got a quarterfinal walkover from Tallon Griekspoor.
Up next for the world No. 6 on Sunday afternoon is Cressy, a surprise finalist who had to qualify just to get into the main draw. The 24-year-old did so successfully without dropping a set before parlaying that success into defeats of Rinky Hijikata, Reilly Opelka (11-9 in the third-set tiebreaker), Jaume Munar, and Grigor Dimitrov. Cressy’s huge serve and impressive serve-and-volley tactics make him a difficult matchup for Nadal, who will be content to return from many meters behind the baseline. Don’t be surprised if this is competitive, and with at least one tiebreaker.
Pick: Nadal in 2 losing 8-10 games
Adelaide: (1) Gael Monfils vs. (2) Karen Khachanov
Monfils and Khachanov will also be going head-to-head for the first time in their careers when they battle for the Adelaide International title. A productive and — more importantly — injury-free start to the season is exactly what the doctor order for Monfils following the trials and tribulations of 2020 and 2021. And that is what has happened this week, as the 35-year-old Frenchman is looking good and was not even pushed to a tiebreaker by Juan Manuel Cerundolo, Tommy Paul, or Thanasi Kokkinakis en route to the final.
Khachanov’s road to Sunday was a bit tougher, as he needed three sets to beat Steve Johnson and survived a first-set tiebreaker against Marin Cilic on Saturday. The 29th-ranked Russian also dismissed Egor Gerasimov 7-5, 6-3 in the quarterfinals. Although Monfils is a dreadful 10-22 lifetime in ATP finals, he is actually a solid 4-2 in such situations dating back to the start of 2018. Assuming Monfils is still healthy and continues to play no-nonsense tennis, you can’t pick against him based on his current level.
Pick: Monfils in 2
WWW?
Nadal and Monfils in three
Thanks dickhead, but im not making predictions for these matches.
I repeat Nadal and Monfils in three
That was the best serving I have seen from Rafa in a while. Accurate first serves hitting all the right spots. The guy has come a long way in the last few years and I think it is bigger than ever now. Was easily clocking it in the 160’s and I think team Rafa know they have to be very strong now in that department.
It was a shaky week and the walkover didn’t help with momentum but I thought he played a good match today. I am sure he got the positive feelings he needed to work hard and step it up for AO. And he has now had the benefit of feeling the court speed and knows exactly what to work on!
I really hope Rafa gets lucky with the draw and is able to go deep.
posted
So good to see Rafa winning!
Very good for his confidence after being out so long…
Saw the highlights
Plus : serve ,fighting spirit , return also seems aggressive ,he’s standing up the court, volleys
Minus : movement is slower and bh is not looking great
Hope this adds to his confidence and he goes far in AO.
We can’t expect him to be on top form straightaway.
This is a very good win for him after being out so long. He didn’t drop a set!
We all know Rafa is a confidence player and this should really help him.
He does need quite a bit of luck with the draw…but Rafa always says you need luck to win slams.