Gael Monfils will be playing for the first time since Indian Wells when he kicks off his Munich campaign against Hyeon Chung on Thursday. Fabio Fognini and Guido Pella are also bidding for a spot in the quarterfinals.
(1) Gael Monfils vs. Hyeon Chung
Due to another injury-induced absence from tennis, Monfils is just now beginning his French Open preparation as he heads into second-round action at the BMW Open on Thursday. The 16th-ranked Frenchman has been sidelined by knee and Achilles’ issues, thus unable to build on a consistent 2016 season in which he qualified for the World Tour Finals. Monfils is 8-4 this year with only one top-30 win and zero top-20 victories.
Up first for this week’s No. 1 seed is Chung, whom he has never faced. The 20-year-old South Korean is a solid 8-5 at the ATP level this season and he also captured a Challenger title in January. Chung is coming off one of the best tournaments of his career, having qualified for the Barcelona main draw and making a run to the quarterfinals before falling to eventual champion Rafael Nadal 7-6(1), 6-2. The world No. 78 has obviously played many more matches than Monfils of late and should be able to maintain his fine form at the expense of a rusty opponent.
Pick: Chung in 2
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(4) Fabio Fognini vs. (Q) Guido Pella
Fognini and Pella will be squaring off for the fourth time in their careers on Thursday. The head-to-head series stands at 2-1 in favor of Fognini (1-1 at the ATP level) after the Italian roared back from a two-set deficit earlier this season to win a decisive Davis Cup rubber over defending champion Argentina 2-6, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-2. That was part of a disastrous season-opening stretch for Pella, who lost his first five matches. He has plunged to No. 158 in the rankings, but the Argentine reached the quarterfinals in Sao Paulo, round two in Indian Wells, round three in Miami, and he crushed fellow qualifier Cedrik-Marcel Stebe on Tuesday in Munich.
This marks Fognini’s first match of the week because he earned an opening bye as the fourth seed. The world No. 29 is a decent 12-9 this year with a semifinal showing in Miami to go along with a whole host of otherwise lackluster results. His clay-court swing is off to a disappointing start, with three-set losses to Pablo Carreno Busta in Monte-Carlo and to Andrey Kuznetsov in Barcelona. For Pella, however, the demons of his Davis Cup meltdown may return with Fognini once again on the other side of the net.
Pick: Fognini in 2
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who ya got?
Pella and Chung in three
Monfils and Fognini in three if they both show up.
They didn’t,not unexpected!