Juan Monaco will kick off his Hamburg title defense on Wednesday against Gael Monfils. Jerzy Janowicz and Robin Haase are also looking for a place in the third round.
(5) Juan Monaco vs. Gael Monfils
Monfils and Monaco will be squaring off for the seventh time in their careers when they clash in round two of the German Tennis Championships on Wednesday. Monaco leads the head-to-head series 4-2, including 3-1 on clay. They most recently faced each other at the 2012 Miami Masters, where the Argentine emerged victorious via a 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 scoreline.
Monaco is the defending champion of this Hamburg event, but he has struggled this year. The world No. 20 owns a 17-15 record, which includes a clay-court title in Dusseldorf two months ago. Since then, though, Monaco is just 3-4 after falling to Grigor Dimitrov in the Bastad semifinals. A resurgent Monfils finished runner-up in Nice before advancing two rounds at the French Open (beat Tomas Berdych and Ernests Gulbis). The 59th-ranked Frenchman cruised past qualifier Andrey Golubev 6-3, 6-3 during first-round action on Tuesday. Based on current form and superior firepower, Monfils should have too much game for Monaco even on this surface.
Pick: Monfils in 2
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(4) Jerzy Janowicz vs. Robin Haase
Janowicz and Haase will be going head-to-head for the second time in their careers and for the second time this season when they meet again on Monday. Their only previous encounter came on the clay courts of Roland Garros, where Janowicz prevailed 6-4, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 to earn a spot in the third round. The 17th ranked Pole, of course, went even further at Wimbledon. He benefited from a section of the draw vacated by Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, reaching the semifinals before succumbing to eventual champion Andy Murray.
An epic tiebreaker slump contributed to a slow start to Haase’s season, but he has been in decent form since the French Open. The 56th-ranked Dutchman has two Challenger runner-ups in the last six weeks and he opened in Hamburg on Monday with a 7-6(3), 4-6, 7-5 victory over qualifier Diego Sebastian Schwartzman. Haase is now 14-17 at the ATP level this year, while Janowicz comes in at 20-13. In a match that may not feature too many breaks, Janowicz’s huge serve a more impressive handling of pressure moments should prove to be the difference.
Pick: Janowicz in 2
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