John Isner will continue his Newport campaign on Wednesday against Adrian Mannarino. In Stuttgart, Gael Monfils and Florian Mayer are looking for a place in the quarterfinals.
Adrian Mannarino vs. John Isner
Isner will get another shot at Mannarino when they take the court for second-round action at the Hall of Fame Tennis Championships on Wednesday. They just faced each other at the same stage of Wimbledon, but Isner was forced to retire suddenly in the third game of the match due to a knee injury. Their only other encounter came on the indoor hard courts of Montpellier in 2010, when Isner prevailed 7-6(5), 6-7(5), 6-3.
The 6’9” American showed no signs of lingering physical problems as he took care of Ryan Harrison 7-6(0), 6-2 on Monday. Isner, who registers at 19th in the world, is still a modest 17-15 for the season. Mannarino went on to defeat Dustin Brown at the All-England Club before losing to Lukasz Kubot in five sets in the round of 16. The 75th-ranked Frenchman maintained his fine form and won his fourth ATP-level match of the year by ousting James Blake 6-4, 5-7, 6-1 in the first round. Isner is the two-time defending champion of this event and his performance against Harrison suggests he will make a strong push to make it three straight.
Pick: Isner in 2
[polldaddy poll=7239211]
(6) Florian Mayer vs. Gael Monfils
Mayer and Monfils will be squaring off for the fourth time in their careers when they collide in round two of the Mercedes Cup on Wednesday. Monfils leads the head-to-head series 3-0, including 2-0 on clay. He captured the 2005 Sopot final at Mayer’s expense via a 7-6(6), 4-6, 7-5 decision before scoring a 5-7, 6-3, 6-4 quarterfinal victory at this same Stuttgart tournament in 2010. Their most recent meeting came two seasons ago on the grass courts of Halle, where Monfils emerged victorious 6-4, 6-4.
The 60th-ranked Frenchman got back in business after skipping Wimbledon by taking care of countryman Paul-Henri Mathieu 7-6(0), 6-4 on Tuesday. Monfils, a runner-up in Nice and third-round finisher at Roland Garros, is 20-13 at the ATP level this year. Mayer opened with a 6-4, 3-6, 6-1 win over Andreas Beck as he improved to an even 15-15 for his 2013 campaign. The 46th-ranked German, who had to play Novak Djokovic in the Wimbledon first round, is coming off a title at the Braunschweig Challenger. Mayer may have some confidence back and his funky game should be able to frustrate an easily-distracted opponent, but Monfils has too much talent and is playing to well right now to let this one slip away.
Pick: Monfils in 3
[polldaddy poll=7239213]
Leave a Reply