Fabio Fognini and Gael Monfils are set for a rematch of their wild 2010 French Open match on Wednesday in Nice. John Isner is also looking for a place in the quarterfinals as he battles Robin Haase.
(6) Fabio Fognini vs. (WC) Gael Monfils
Fognini and Monfils will be squaring off for the third time in their careers when they clash in round two of the Open de Nice Cote d’Azur on Wednesday. The head-to-head series stands at 1-1, with Fognini having won their only previous clay-court encounter. After Monfils cruised 6-2, 6-4 on the hard courts of Madrid in 2008, Fognini survived a memorable, darkness-marred French Open showdown 2-6, 4-6, 7-5, 6-4, 9-7 in 2010.
Monfils is a shadow of the Top 10 player he once was, mainly due to myriad injuries. The 109th-ranked Frenchman, however, may finally be regaining some form. He captured the Bordeaux Challenger title on Sunday and he won his Nice opener 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 over Santiago Giraldo. Fognini registers just five spots off his career-high ranking at No. 29 in the world. The sixth-seeded Italian, a recent semifinalist in Monte-Carlo, kicked off his week by overcoming qualifier Marco Cecchinato 1-6, 6-1, 6-2 on Tuesday. Fognini has cooled off a bit since last month and with Monfils playing at home, the fans should get the result they want as long as their man is not feeling ill effects from a lot of tennis over the last few days.
Pick: Monfils in 3
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Robin Haase vs. (4) John Isner
Haase and Isner have also split two previous meetings heading into their second-round date on Wednesday in Nice. This is their first matchup on clay after Haase scored a 6-2, 6-7(5), 7-5 victory on the indoor hard courts of Basel in 2010 followed by a 3-6, 7-6(4), 7-5 Isner triumph a few months later in Auckland. Not surprisingly, Isner has won both of their previous tiebreakers. The 6’9” American is one of the best tiebreaker players in the world, whereas Haase has currently lost a record 17 consecutive ‘breakers at the ATP main-draw level.
The Dutchman did well to avoid any such situations on Monday when he raced through Marinko Matosevic 6-1, 6-4. Haase is still a relatively poor 10-13 for the season. Isner, who earned a first-round bye as the No. 4 seed, is a modest 13-11. The world No. 21 captured the Houston title last month but on European clay he has compiled a disappointing 1-3 record. Isner is not playing well enough to dominate this one, but with the way Haase is playing tiebreakers right now this is just about the worst matchup the underdog could ask for.
Pick: Isner in 2
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