Toronto R1 previews and predictions: Monfils vs. Sousa, Johnson vs. Fognini

Two days after winning the biggest title of his career in Washington, D.C., Monfils will be back in action in Toronto against Joao Sousa. Steve Johnson, who also had a successful Washington campaign, is facing Umag champion Fabio Fognini.

(10) Gael Monfils vs. Joao Sousa

Monfils has been focused, motivated, and pretty much outstanding this entire season. Physical problems–injuries and illness, to be specific–have once again been a problem, but the 14th-ranked Frenchman is No. 9 in the race to London despite having missed the French Open. Monfils took his 2016 campaign to new heights on Sunday by capturing the first 500-point title of his career in Washington, D.C., where he came back from the brink of defeat to stun Ivo Karlovic. The 6’11” Croat served for the championship at 5-4 in the second set and had not been broken all week, but Monfils somehow recovered for a 5-7, 7-6(6), 6-4 triumph.

Up first for the 10th seed on Tuesday is Sousa, who trails the head-to-head series 2-1. They faced each other three times in 2014 (all on indoor hard courts), with Sousa getting the job done in Metz in between Monfils’ victories in Montpellier and Paris. Portugal’s top player is a mediocre 17-22 for the year, but he is still on the cusp of U.S. Open seeding at No. 36 in the world. Sousa went back to clay following Wimbledon and was upset in the quarterfinals in both Bastad (Gastao Elias) and Umag (Andrej Martin). A quick transition to hard courts against a red-hot opponent will probably not go well for the underdog.

Pick: Monfils in 2

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Fabio Fognini vs. (15) Steve Johnson

Like Monfils, Fognini is also coming off a title this past week. Prior to his arrival in Umag, the world No. 33 had been 11-13 for the year and was just barely inside the top 100 in terms of 2016 ranking points. But he benefited from a weak draw and rolled to his fourth career ATP title (all on clay) with defeats of Renzo Olivo, Damir Dzumhur, Gastao Elias, and Andrej Martin.

Fognini and Johnson will be going head-to-head for the third time in their careers on Tuesday, with the Italian having won both of their previous encounters; 7-6(0), 6-3 last spring on the clay courts of Rome and 2-6, 6-3, 6-4, 7-6(2) a few months later in round one  the U.S. Open. Playing arguably the best and certainly the most consistent tennis of his career, Johnson won his first ATP title last month in Nottingham, reached the fourth round at Wimbledon, and most recently turned in a semifinal performance in Washington, D.C. The 21st-ranked American should not have too much trouble taking advantage of a fatigued Fognini.

Pick: Johnson in 2

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