Toronto QF previews and predictions: Raonic vs. Monfils, Djokovic vs. Berdych

Arguably the most intriguing of Toronto’s four quarterfinal matchups on Friday pits Canada’s own Milos Raonic against Washington, D.C. champion Gael Monfils. Novak Djokovic, meanwhile, is facing Tomas Berdych.

(4) Milos Raonic vs. (10) Gael Monfils

Raonic and Monfils will be going head-to-head for the fifth time in their careers and for the third time this season when they meet again in the quarterfinals of the Rogers Cup on Friday. They have split their four previous encounters, but Raonic is a perfect 2-0 at Monfils’ expense in 2016. The seventh-ranked Canadian got the job done 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 at the Australian Open and 7-5, 6-3 at the Indian Wells Masters–both in quarterfinal contents. Raonic has only gone full steam ahead since those showdowns, as he is up to No. 3 in the Race to London thanks in part to a runner-up performance at Wimbledon. So far this week the fourth seed has disposed of Yen-Hsun Lu and Jared Donaldson in easy straight sets.

Monfils’ case is not entirely different: injuries have been a factor, but when healthy in 2016 he has played the best tennis of his career. The Frenchman registers at 14th in the rankings and No. 9 in the race even though he missed the French Open and lost in round one at Wimbledon. To say Monfils is back on track to begin the North American hard-court swing would be a gross understatement. He captured his biggest professional title last week in Washington, D.C. and has parlayed that momentum in Toronto victories over Joao Sousa, Vasek Pospisil, and David Goffin. At times against Goffin, however, the 10th seed seemed to be nearing empty in both the mental and physical departments. Raonic, of course, is an opponent against whom one cannot afford even the slightest of lapses.

Pick: Raonic in 2

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(1) Novak Djokovic vs. (5) Tomas Berdych

Djokovic began this week as a considerable question mark, not only dealing with an apparent arm issue in practice but also coming off a hard-to-explain third-round Wimbledon loss to Sam Querrey. Fast forward to the quarterfinals, though, and the questions surrounding the world No. 1 appear to be things of the past. He booked his spot in the last eight by taking care of Gilles Muller 7-5, 7-6(3) and Radek Stepanek 6-2, 6-3.

Up next for the top-seeded Serb is what should be continued dominance in one of the most lopsided head-to-head matchups on the ATP Tour. Djokovic is a commanding 24-2 lifetime against Berdych, including 20-0 on hard courts. He is 11-0 in their last 11 meetings and 22-1 in his last 23 outings with the underdog Czech on the other side of the net. Berdych, who is 0-3 against Djokovic this season and 0-7 in total sets, is showing no real sign of being able to turn things around. The world No. 8 at least managed to reach the quarterfinals at Roland Garros and the semis at the All-England Club, but he benefited from favorable draws on each occasion. He has done the same this week in Toronto, but this is obviously where the good fortune has come to an end.

Pick: Djokovic in 2 losing 8-10 games

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