The first 500-point title of 2019 will go to either Stan Wawrinka or Gael Monfils, who are facing each other on Sunday in Rotterdam. On the red clay of Buenos Aires, meanwhile, Diego Schwartzman is going up against Marco Cecchinato.
(WC) Stan Wawrinka vs. Gael Monfils
Wawrinka and Monfils will be squaring off for the sixth time in their careers when they battle for the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament title on Sunday. The head-to-head series stands at 3-2 in favor of Wawrinka, who has won two in a row at the Frenchman’s expense after prevailing 7-5, 7-6(7), 6-2 in round four of the 2017 French Open–their only encounter since the end of 2011. These two veterans have never met past the quarterfinal stage, and a final scenario likely favors Wawrinka. After all, Monfils is a disastrous 7-21 lifetime in ATP title matches with only one triumph coming above the 250-point level (at the 500-point event in Washington three years ago). The world No. 33 has given himself another chance with victories this week over David Goffin, Andreas Seppi, Damir Dzumhur, and a red-hot Daniil Medvedev.
Finally in fine form on the heels of injury issues, Wawrinka has advanced by defeating Benoit Paire, Milos Raonic, Denis Shapovalov, and No. 1 seed Kei Nishikori. The 33-year-old is 16-12 for his career in ATP title matches, including one already in Rotterdam (2015) in addition to three Grand Slam titles and one at a Masters 1000 (Monte-Carlo in 2014). Wawrinka has been by far the best player this whole week, having navigated an extremely difficult draw with the loss of only one set. He will likely hit too big on an indoor hard court and be too mentally tough for Monfils.
Pick: Wawrinka in 2
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Buenos Aires: (4) Diego Schwartzman vs. (3) Marco Cecchinato
Schwartzman has treated the home fans to an entertaining run through the Argentina Open draw, and his reward–and theirs–is a final showdown against Cecchinato on Sunday. The world No. 19 followed up a first-round bye with a three-set win over Aljaz Bedene and a straight-set defeat of Albert Ramos-Vinolas. He then upset top-seeded Dominic Thiem 2-6, 6-4, 7-6(5) on Saturday afternoon. Schwartzman, who already owns eight match victories in 2019, is bidding for his third career title and third on clay.
Cecchinato booked his spot on championship Sunday by taking out Christian Garin, Roberto Carballes Baena, and Guido Pella all in straight sets. The 18th-ranked Italian had previously struggled this season, but the Golden Swing is predictably just what the doctor ordered for this clay-court specialist. In 2018 he triumphed in Budapest and Umag to go along with a semifinal run at Roland Garros. Although the crowd will try to keep Schwartzman competitive, his semifinal with Thiem was grueling one and Cecchinato has absolutely rolled.
Pick: Cecchinato in 3
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who ya got?
Ricky Dimon
LaMonf in 3 and Schwartzman in 3
Wawa and Schwarz in three.
Wawa’s power tennis is just so awesome! He’s a strong man, very fit with great stamina, hence he’s seldom tired.
His is that kind of power tennis from the baseline that comes with pace, penetration and precision in addition to power; when its on its simply lethal! And, he can do it all day long, ie with consistency throughout a match, not forgetting he’s also quite fast around the court and not afraid to come inside the court too!
It’s different from Delpo, who hits with easy power but Delpo lacks the stamina when he’s made to run. It’s no wonder Stan offers the toughest test to Djoko at the slams along side Rafa.
It’s refreshing to see Monfils coming to the net so often in the third set with success, when obviously he’s getting tired. At least, that shown us he’s thinking out there and shortening points; and at the same time, shown us the varieties in his game.
For Medvedev, I think a few areas of his game could see some improvement – some willingness to cut short the points by mixing in drop shots, approaching the net more often; needs to anticipate better his opponent’s moves and be more proactive.
Stan in straight; Diego in 3.