Coming off an upset of Stefanos Tsitsipas, Hubert Hurkacz will try to keep his Montreal run going against Gael Monfils on Thursday. Roberto Bautista Agut and Richard Gasquet are also trying to book a spot in the quarterfinals.
(ALT) Hubert Hurkacz vs. (16) Gael Monfils
Monfils and Hurkacz will be going head-to-head for the first time in their careers when they collide in round three of the Rogers Cup on Thursday. It has already been an outstanding week for Hurkacz, who got a late spot in the main draw and parlayed that opportunity into wins over Taylor Fritz and No. 4 seed Stefanos Tsitsipas. Thus continues a breakout 2019 campaign for the 22-year-old Pole, who has earned 18 of his 26 lifetime ATP-level match victories this season.
Once again failing to stay healthy for an entire year, Monfils did some damage earlier in 2019 but mostly disappeared after reaching the Roland Garros fourth round. The 20th-ranked Frenchman may be resurfacing now, having defeated wild card Peter Polansky and qualifier Ilya Ivashka so far this week. However, he was far from spectacular on both occasions and looked extremely tired late in the second set against Ivashka on Wednesday night. Even if Monfils is 100 percent, Hurkacz is in the kind of form that gives him a great chance in this one.
Pick: Hurkacz in 3
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(10) Roberto Bautista Agut vs. Richard Gasquet
After going almost four years without playing each other, Bautista Agut and Gasquet will meet for the second time this summer. The two veterans just faced each other on the grass of Halle, where Bautista Agut cruised 6-1, 6-4 to take a 3-1 lead in the head-to-head series. A showdown between the Spaniard and Kei Nishikori seemed to be more likely for Thursday, but Gasquet took down the Japanese world No. 7 6-7(6), 6-2, 7-6(4) in round two. It was a much-needed win for the 66th-ranked Frenchman, who is still just an abbreviated 11-9 this season.
Adding insult to injury after needing three hours and nine minutes to outlast Nishikori, Gasquet now runs into a rock-solid performer in Bautista Agut. The world No. 13 is 31-13 in 2019 after making a recent run to the Wimbledon semifinals. He is through to last 16 in Montreal thanks to straight-set routs of Bernard Tomic and Los Cabos champion Diego Schwartzman. All signs point to Bautista Agut easily taking advantage of a fatigued opponent.
Pick: Bautista Agut in 2
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WWW?
Makes sense that RBA should beat Gasquet.
Hurkacz ftw also makes sense. But I’m not comfortable picking any of these guys.