Marco Cecchinato will be right back in action on the heels of his Umag title when he goes up against Gael Monfils in the Hamburg first round on Tuesday. Richard Gasquet is also playing on just one day of rest following a runner-up finish in Bastad.
(6) Marco Cecchinato vs. Gael Monfils
Cecchinato and Monfils will be going head-to-head for the first time in their careers when they clash in round one of the German Tennis Championships on Tuesday. This marks a quick turnaround for Cecchinato, who just captured his second career ATP title–and second of the season–on Sunday in Umag. Thus continued an incredible hot streak for the 22nd-ranked Italian, who is 18-6 in his last 24 matches dating back to the start of his title-winning run in Budapest as a lucky loser. He followed up that performance by reaching the French Open semifinals and he even delivered a semifinal showing on his worst surface (grass) in Eastbourne.
Monfils has emerged from a spring slump to put himself in contention for U.S. Open seeding at No. 37 in the world. The 31-year-old Frenchman advanced to the third round at Roland Garros, reached the Antalya semifinals, and turned in a solid fourth-round performance at Wimbledon before falling to eventual runner-up Kevin Anderson. Monfils is clearly playing well enough at the moment to take advantage of an opponent who has to be low on energy and may be craving some time off.
Pick: Monfils in 2
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Benoit Paire vs. (7) Richard Gasquet
Like Cecchinato, Gasquet will have had just one full day of rest when he takes the court on Tuesday in Hamburg. The 28th-ranked Frenchman benefited from a favorable draw last week in Bastad, where he beat three opponents outside the top 100 before succumbing to Fabio Fognini 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 in Sunday’s title match. Gasquet is now 24-15 for his 2018 campaign and 7-3 in his last 10 matches with a title on the grass courts of ‘s-Hertogenbosch during this stretch.
The 32-year-old lost to Monfils right away at Wimbledon and he has another first-rounder against a fellow Frenchman on his hands in Hamburg. Gasquet is dominating the head-to-head series with Paire 5-1, but the latter won their most recent encounter 6-4, 6-4 a few months ago on the red clay of Rome. Paire is coming off an opening setback in Umag against Marton Fucsovics, but he played well on grass with a third-set tiebreaker loss to Roger Federer in Halle and a third-round result at Wimbledon (fell to Juan Martin Del Potro). This is a good opportunity for the world No. 52 to get back in the win column at the expense of a fatigued compatriot.
Pick: Paire in 3
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