It will be an all-French affair when Gael Monfils and Gilles Simon face each other on Thursday in Tokyo. The second-round schedule is also wrapping up with a showdown between Nick Kyrgios and Radek Stepanek.
Gilles Simon vs. (2) Gael Monfils
Monfils and Simon will be squaring off for the eighth time in their careers when they battle for a spot in the Japan Open quarterfinals on Thursday. Simon is dominating the head-to-head series 6-1, but one ended in retirement and five of their six completed encounters have required final sets–including two five-setters. The two Frenchmen have not faced each other since Wimbledon in 2015, when Simon scored a 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(6), 2-6, 6-2 victory that was moved to Center Court for the fifth set after darkness fell.
Fast forward to the latter stages of 2016 and Monfils has become an obvious favorite in this matchup. The world No. 8 is currently in position for a World Tour Finals berth, whereas Simon is on the way down at 31 years old. Simon had dipped to 30th in the rankings with a modest record of just 25-21 for the year. But on the heels of a dreadful summer, the former world No. 6 is a decent 3-1 this fall with a semifinal showing in Metz and a 7-5, 4-6, 6-0 defeat of Philipp Kohlschreiber on Tuesday in Tokyo. Monfils advanced on Tuesday with a 6-3, 6-1 win over Yuichi Sugita, improving his 2016 record to an awesome 41-12. Count on another close one, but an in-form Monfils should have the upper hand this time around.
Pick: Monfils in 3
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(6) Nick Kyrgios vs. (Q) Radek Stepanek
Kyrgios has been predictably up and down in the results department this year even though has done well to remain mostly free of controversy in terms of his attitude. Although the 15th-ranked Australian has the first two ATP titles of his career under his belt (Marseille and Atlanta), he did not make it past the fourth round of any slam and he lost in the third round on three occasions. Kyrgios is coming off a an opening loss in Chengdu to Kevin Anderson, but he took care of Ryan Harrison 7-5, 6-2 on Monday in Tokyo.
Next up for the sixth seed is a third career meeting with Stepanek, who trails the head-to-head series 2-0. A pair of competitive first-round Grand Slam showdowns have gone Kyrgios’ way; 7-6(4), 7-6(8), 7-6(11) at the 2013 French Open and 6-4, 6-3, 6-7(9), 6-1 at Wimbledon this summer. Stepanek has endured his fair share of injury problems at 37 years old, but he is still playing well when healthy. In fact, the Czech will be back in the top 100 next Monday for the first time since April of 2015. So far in Tokyo he has successfully qualified for the main draw and taken out Stephane Robert in easy 6-2, 6-1 fashion. A much tougher opponent in Kyrgios will almost certainly put a swift end to Stepanek’s productive week.
Pick: Kyrgios in 2
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Kyrgios is one of the players who is painful to bet on … he’s always going to be a moderate favorite because of his ranking but he really is hot garbage when he loses his cool … his forehand is pretty but his fitness is subpar for a serious player on the tour … I’m sure he’s fine with that as his main focus is not tennis but it makes it very difficult to wager on or against him … he reminds me a bit of Benoit Paire except you can generally depend on Paire to exit in the first round against an underdog … Kyrgios usually gets through the matches he’s supposed to win/ matches against other up-and-comers and folds against legitimate opponents so I agree NK in 2 …
If Monfils cannot beat Simon in 2 then the rest of the tour who Monfils has leapfrogged with his newfound focus/interest in winning points rather than winning them with cool shots needs to take a hard look at themselves … Simon’s previous wins against a more talented player were largely due to focus problems … there are many talented players in individual sports such as tennis who veterans know they can simply outlast by playing high percentage tennis … I chalk up many of Monfils losses before this season to that being common knowledge on the tour … I don’t think he is allowing that this season … Monfils in 2
solid post
Agree, very well said. I will also pick Monfils in 2 here and if doesnt beat Simon in his current form then I really dont know
NK should have the upper hand too if he just keeps his cool and generally makes Stepanek run alot or simply play aggressive tennis, both do in any case so points shouldnt be too long
I am an avid Gael fan and have been for almost the past decade. I think Gael always found it tough to beat Simon (even when he was ranked higher) because he can not break down Simon’s defense. When Gael plays aggressive Simon will keep returning until Gael will go for a bit too much on a shot. On the other hand when gael is defensive, Simon just outlasts him. Furthermore, it’s a known tour knowledge that Gael finds it particularly hard to play against his friends. Fast forward to 2016 – Gael is a different player, not only does he remain focused throughout matches but he also is more determined to win than ever. I have voted for a Monfils win in 2 sets as well and that’s what you expect from a top 10 player TBH (no disrespect to Simon). Nevertheless I will be disappointed if he wins in 3 because it’s time to step it up even more and head to top 5 level for Gael.
Kyrgios is a pain to bet on because you never know when he is going to take a dive. There were already many examples of when he was a huge favorite throwing games and his usually excuse is he didn’t wanna play today. With that said, I don’t think kyrgios is going to throw today’s match. U gotta wait until he is closer to -1000 then him and his friends will bet against himself and throw it.
Nick and Monfils in two. That being said, no way am I putting any money on Nick. He looked disinterested in being there last match again, and if he wasn’t drilling his serve in at such a high rate, would have probably conceded getting beaten.
Kyrgios and Monfils in two. Both should be too tough to lose with they’ve been serving lately and just throughout this season.
With the way they’ve been*