Jo-Wilfried Tsonga will be playing for the first time in the more than a year when he faces Sebastian Korda in the Montpellier first round on Monday. Ugo Humbert and Norbert Gombos are also taking the court.
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga vs. Sebastian Korda
Tsonga is playing his first match since the 2020 Australian Open and he is bidding for his first win since the 2019 Davis Cup Finals. Due to both the pandemic and yet another injury (this time to his back), the Frenchman has been inactive for 13 months. However, because of the ATP rankings restructuring he is still ranked No. 62 in the world and therefore did not even need a wild card to get into the Montpellier main draw.
Up first for Tsonga on Monday is Korda, who is at a much different point in his career. Fifteen years Tsonga’s junior at 20, the American has not only been playing tons and tons of matches, but also winning a ton. He skipped Australian Open qualifying to play an ATP event in Delray Beach (made a run to the final) and some Challengers (won the Quimper title). Korda is well inside the top 100 now (No. 88) and will likely be way too confident for an opponent who will simply be happy to be on the court.
Pick: Korda in 2
Norbert Gombos vs. (6) Ugo Humbert
The host nation should be in line for a much better result when Humbert goes up against Gombos for the third time. Both of their previous encounters have gone the Frenchman’s way; 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 at the 2018 Granby Challenger and 6-4, 7-6(6) at the 2019 Brest Challenger.
Humbert has obviously graduated to the main tour since then. In fact, he is up to No. 34 in the world and was seeded at the Aussie Open–where he lost to Nick Kyrgios in a second-round thriller that was one of the best matches of the tournament. Humbert captured two ATP titles last season and he is certainly among the favorites to lift another 250-point trophy in Montpellier. Gombos is just 17-37 lifetime on the main tour and is unlikely to be much of a first-round threat.
Pick: Humbert in 2
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