Monte-Carlo R2 previews and predictions: Goffin vs. Verdasco, Gasquet vs. Pouille

Now in an eighth of the draw vacated by David Ferrer, David Goffin will look to maintain his hot streak when he faces Fernando Verdasco on Wednesday in Monte-Carlo. Frenchmen Richard Gasquet and Lucas Pouille are also in action.

(11) David Goffin vs. (WC) Fernando Verdasco

Goffin and Verdasco will be squaring off for the fourth time in their careers when they clash in round two of the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters on Wednesday. Verdasco is leading the head-to-head series 2-1, including 1-0 on clay. He prevailed 6-3, 3-6, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 at the 2013 Australian Open and 7-6(2), 6-2 later that season in Madrid. A much-improved player two years later, Goffin turned the tide with a 6-4, 7-6(4) victory last summer in Cincinnati.

Continuing to take his tennis to new heights, Goffin is in the midst of what is shaping up to be by far his best year on tour. The 13th-ranked Belgian is coming off consecutive Masters 1000 semifinals in Indian Wells and Miami, having never previously reached that stage of such a tournament. He maintained his hot streak by blitzing Feliciano Lopez 7-5, 6-0 on Tuesday. Verdasco did not have to make as quick of a turnaround as his first opponent, because he lost in the Houston second round last week whereas Federico Delbonis captured the Marrakech title. The 88th-ranked Spaniard made quick 6-0, 6-3 work of the fatigued Argentine. Goffin will obviously be a much tougher proposition for Verdasco in a showdown between two players clearly going in opposite directions.

Pick: Goffin in 2

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(9) Richard Gasquet vs. (WC) Lucas Pouille

It will be an all-French affair when Gasquet and Pouille go head-to-head for the second time in their careers on Wednesday. Their only previous meeting came last season on the indoor hard courts of Montpellier, where Gasquet got the job done 6-3, 7-6(6). The world No. 10’s 2016 campaign got off to a late start because of a back injury, but he is making up for lost time. Gasquet, who captured a title in Montpellier, is 11-3 after clobbering Nicolas Almagro 6-4, 6-0 on Monday.

Pouille is really starting to make a name for himself in 2016. The Frenchman’s ranking of No. 82 in the world is 18 spots away from his best-ever mark, but he is coming off a fourth-round run in Miami. Pouille got a wild card into Monte-Carlo and made the most of it by beating compatriot Nicolas Mahut 7-6(1), 6-3 on Monday. Gasquet, though, is playing with extreme confidence right now and for the moment is simply in a different league.

Pick: Gasquet in 2

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