Gael Monfils and Lukas Rosol will be part of the Tuesday schedule in Halle. Fellow veterans Andreas Seppi and Tommy Haas are also aiming to get through the first round.
Lukas Rosol vs. (4) Gael Monfils
Monfils and Rosol will be going head-to-head in meaningful action for the first time in their careers when they battle in round one of the Gerry Weber Open on Tuesday. They previously squared off in a dead Davis Cup rubber last season in France, where Monfils got the job done at home 5-7, 6-4, 7-5. He recently treated his legion of fans to a fourth-round showing at the French Open, where eventually flamed out against Roger Federer. The world No. 16 also played last week in Stuttgart, where he won two matches before bowing at the hands of eventual champion Rafael Nadal in the semis.
Rosol had a chance to face Nadal in the Stuttgart second round, but the 39th-ranked Czech lost right away to Marcos Baghdatis. He is a disappointing 11-18 on the year, with the only real highlights coming in Indian Wells (fourth round) and at Roland Garros (third round). But this is a good opportunity for Rosol, and not just because it is on grass. Monfils’ ability to hold up both physically and mentally in consecutive weeks has to be called into question.
Pick: Rosol in 3
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Andreas Seppi vs. (PR) Tommy Haas
The clock will be turned back when Seppi and Haas meet on Tuesday. Haas leads the head-to-head series 4-1 at the ATP level and 5-1 overall. They first collided nine years ago at this same Halle event, with Haas prevailing 6-1, 6-2. Their second encounter also came in Halle, albeit five seasons later. Haas again got the best of Seppi, this time via a much more competitive 6-2, 6-7(6), 6-3 scoreline. The two veterans squared off twice in 2014 (both on clay), when Haas won 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 in Munich and 6-1, 4-6, 6-3 in Rome.
Both men have endured their fair share of recent physical problems, especially Haas. In fact, the 37-year-old German just returned from a 12-month absence when he advanced one round last week in Stuttgart (d. Mikhail Kukushkin) before succumbing to Bernard Tomic. Seppi is a modest 3-6 in tournament competition since finishing runner-up in Zagreb back in February. The Italian has never been at his best on grass and he is coming off a second-round Stuttgart loss to Mischa Zverev. Count on another German taking care of Seppi on home soil.
Pick: Haas in 3
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I like Monfils in 3 and the ageless one in straight.