Arguably the best matchup of the French Open first round pits Tomas Berdych against Gael Monfils on Monday. Jerzy Janowicz and Albert Ramos are also contesting a tough opener.
(5) Tomas Berdych vs. (WC) Gael Monfils
Berdych and Monfils will be going head-to-head for the fourth time in their careers when they collide in a blockbuster first-round matchup at the French Open on Monday. All three of their previous encounters have gone Berdych’s way, including a 6-1, 6-1 drubbing in their most recent meeting and only prior clay-court battle at the 2012 Madrid event.
Monfils should at least be able to make this more competitive because he finally appears to be rounding into form after an injury-plagued start to the season. The 81st-ranked Frenchman won the Bordeaux Challenger earlier this month before finishing runner-up to Albert Montanes on Saturday in Nice. Berdych has no titles to his credit in 2013, but he does boast a solid 29-10 record. The sixth-ranked Czech recently advanced to the semifinals at clay-court Masters tournaments in Madrid (lost to Stanislas Wawrinka) and Rome (lost to Rafael Nadal).
The question, of course, is Monfils’ health. The former world No. 7 is coming off two consecutive long weeks of tennis and he appeared to be favoring his knee during a second-set tiebreaker at the end of his match against Montanes. Even if Monfils is close to 100 percent, the obvious edge still goes to Berdych. Roland Garros’ No. 5 seed is a former semifinalist and his results throughout the course of his whole career show that he can get the job done on the slow stuff even though it is not his best surface.
Pick: Berdych in 3
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Albert Ramos vs. (21) Jerzy Janowicz
Ramos and Janowicz will be facing each other for the second time in their careers and for the second time this spring when they meet on Monday. Their only previous collision came on the clay courts in Barcelona, where Ramos prevailed 4-6, 6-2, 6-3. The 64th-ranked Spaniard, whose season is highlighted by a fourth-round appearance in Miami, eventually reached the Barcelona quarterfinals. However, he is looking to bounce back from a first-round loss in Nice to Victor Hanescu.
Janowicz would clearly rather play this one on grass or any kind of hard court, but he showed signs of life on clay a few weeks ago in Rome. The 22-year-old Pole had a poor 1-3 clay-court record in 2013 heading into Rome, but he made it all the way to the quarters before succumbing to Roger Federer. Janowicz has a real chance of getting revenge on Ramos if he serves well, but unless he is putting in an extraordinary percentage of first deliveries he will likely be once again forced into too many baseline rallies.
Pick: Ramos in 5
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hahaha on ur ramos/janowicz prediction.