A first-round blockbuster in Houston pits Gael Monfils against James Blake on Monday. The winner will face No. 1 seed Nicolas Almagro in a loaded section of the draw.
Gael Monfils and James Blake will be squaring off for the fifth time in their careers and for the first time in more than three years when they clash in round one of the U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship on Monday.
The head-to-head series is tied up at two wins apiece, including 1-1 on clay. Monfils prevailed 6-2, 6-7(2), 7-6(1), 5-7, 6-4 at the 2006 French Open before Blake got some revenge on the slow stuff with a 7-6(4), 6-3 victory one season later in Rome. They most recently faced each other at the 2010 hard-court event in Brisbane, where Monfils advanced 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.
Both players have stumbled upon hard times. Monfils, a former world No. 7, missed much of last season due to knee problems and he has not played since Marseille in mid-February. The Frenchman, ranked 104th (as of Sunday), is 8-6 for his abbreviated 2013 campaign. He reached the semifinals in Auckland and the third round of the Australian Open, in which he lost to Gilles Simon 8-6 in the fifth set.
At 33 years old, Blake is struggling down at No. 90 in the world. Even at this point in his career, however, his slumps are interspersed with relative success. The American, once ranked as high as No. 4 in the world, had a decent run on U.S. hard courts last summer and he reached the Miami third round last month. Blake is an even 4-4 at the ATP level this season while also making it to the Dallas Challenger semis.
This is a tough one to call because Monfils is such a question mark at the moment. But if he is fit to play–and that appears to be the case based on his entry into this event–there is no reason why Monfils should have any trouble with Blake on a clay court.
Pick: Monfils in 2
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Monfils may be healthy, but I still like Blake. He’s a bit like Tommy Haas: more in the tank than we thought!