French Open Day 9 picks: Murray vs. Verdasco, Monfils vs. Garcia-Lopez

June 1, 2014 Ricky Predictions 0

The Grandstand’s Ricky Dimon and Steen Kirby of Tennis East Coast preview and pick two of the best men’s singles matchups on Monday at Roland Garros. Familiar foes Andy Murray and Fernando Verdasco, coming off much different third-rounders, are among those in action.

(24) Fernando Verdasco vs. (7) Andy Murray

Ricky: Murray leads the head-to-head series 9-1. They have never faced each other on clay, in part because Murray generally does not stick around as long in those tournaments as he does on grass or hard courts. He is, however, in stellar form on the slow stuff right now. The Scot extended Rafael Nadal to 7-5 in the third in the Rome quarterfinals and he delivered an impressive, gutsy effort in a 12-10 in the fifth win over Philipp Kohlschreiber in the Roland Garros third round. Verdasco is also in fine form, but his heavy topspin forehand to the backhand side won’t work as well against Murray’s two-hander as against, for example, Richard Gasquet’s one-hander. In what is sure to be a competitive match, Grand Slam experience and mental strength favor Murray. Murray 4-6, 6-3, 7-6, 3-6, 6-3.

Steen: Verdasco just wiped out a clearly not 100 percent Gasquet in straights, while Murray needed two days, five sets, and a 12-10 fifth set to finally dispatch Kohlschreiber, against whom he played well for stretches but totally lost the plot at other points. Murray has won the last four meetings between these two–including a Wimbledon five-setter last year–and though they have never met on clay, a surface that favors Verdasco, Murray has dominated the H2H while losing only once in 10 meetings to the Spanish lefty. Both players have struggled with inconsistency, Murray against Kohlschreiber and Verdasco against Pablo Cuevas, to whom he lost the first two sets. This is not an easy match to pick, but given the H2H and my personal gut feeling, I’m going with Murray in five. Murray 4-6, 6-3, 7-5, 3-6, 9-7.

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Guillermo Garcia-Lopez vs. (23) Gael Monfils

Ricky: Monfils vs. Fabio Fognini could not have been more Monfils-like (and it could not have been more Fognini-like, too, for that matter). But it would also be very typical of Monfils to waste a golden opportunity to reach a Grand Slam quarterfinal and even a semifinal. The Frenchman has been to a slam quarterfinal just four times (1-3 in those matches). He’s more about putting on a show than producing results, which is great for fans–but not good for French fans with high expectations. Expectations will be off the charts against an unseeded opponent, but Garcia-Lopez isn’t playing like one. The Spaniard ousted Stan Wawrinka and actually played quite well despite being pushed to five sets against a spirited Donald Young on Saturday. Monfils wasn’t “about to die” against Fognini like he said, but it’s hard to see him being absolutely 100 percent for this one. Garcia-Lopez 3-6, 7-5, 6-2, 3-6, 6-4.

Steen:Both GGL and La Monf survived five-set tests to reach the second week, GGL avoiding a near 2 sets to love up collapse against Donald Young and Monfils winning a clown car circus against Fabio Fognini. Both are questionable coming in, as Monfils still seems nagged by his ankle and GGL hasn’t been overly consistent, so it’s a hard pick, but Monfils is 2-0 career in the clay h2h (though he lost to GGL in Miami this year) and with the crowd behind him, I think Gael will pull himself together for yet another good match and win this one in 4 sets. Monfils 6-4, 1-6, 6-3, 7-6.

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8 Comments on French Open Day 9 picks: Murray vs. Verdasco, Monfils vs. Garcia-Lopez

  2. Bryans, Nestor/Zimonjic Fall In Quarters.

    Granollers/MarcLo have a good chance here with those out……………….

    Reply

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