U.S. Open R4 previews and picks: Dimitrov vs. Monfils, Cilic vs. Simon

A blockbuster fourth-round showdown between Grigor Dimitrov and Gael Monfils is set for Tuesday at the U.S. Open. Marin Cilic and Gilles Simon are also bidding for a place in the quarterfinals.

(7) Grigor Dimitrov vs. (20) Gael Monfils

Dimitrov and Monfils will be squaring off for the third time in their careers and for the second time at the U.S. Open when they collide during fourth-round action on Tuesday afternoon. Their only previous completed encounter came in the first round of this same event three years ago, when Monfils scored a 7-6(4), 6-3, 6-4 victory. These two exciting performers also faced each other earlier this season on the clay courts of Bucharest, but Monfils retired while trailing 5-1 in the first set.

Both men are squarely in command of their games right now. Dimitrov, up to No. 8 in the world with a 41-12 record in 2014, posted semifinal showings at both Wimbledon and the Rogers Cup. So far this fortnight the Bulgarian has taken out Ryan Harrison, Dudi Sela, and David Goffin. An extremely focused Monfils has advanced with straight-set wins over Jared Donaldson, Alejandro Gonzalez, and Richard Gasquet. The 24th-ranked Frenchman is a solid 29-12 for the year and suddenly looking like he is more interested in winning than in simply putting on a show. Monfils is one of few players who can match Dimitrov in terms of athleticism and the 20th seed seems to have a slight edge in current form right now.

Pick: Monfils in 4

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(14) Marin Cilic vs. (26) Gilles Simon

Cilic and Simon will be going head-to-head for the fifth time in their careers and for the second time this season on Tuesday. Simon outlasted Cilic 4-6, 7-6(3), 6-7(5), 6-1, 6-2 in the second round of the Australian Open to improve his record to a perfect 4-0 over the Croat. In fact, both of their previous Grand Slam meetings have progressed to a fifth set; Simon also prevailed 3-6, 7-5, 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 seven years ago at Wimbledon. The Frenchman is 2-0 lifetime against Cilic on hard courts.

However, they have only clashed once since 2008 and Cilic is playing some of the best tennis of his life in 2014 following a four-month suspension late in 2013. The world No. 16 is an awesome 43-16 for the year following U.S. Open scalps of Marcos Baghdatis, Illya Marchenko, and Kevin Anderson. Simon has been especially impressive in getting past Radu Albot, Federico Delbonis, and fourth-seeded David Ferrer. The world No. 31 is just 19-19 for his 2014 campaign but he is now healthy and rounding into form in a hurry. A fast hard court will be of some benefit to Cilic, but at the same time Simon likes using opponents’ pace to generate his own. Unless the No. 14 seed serves incredibly well, he will once again get broken down from the baseline.

Pick: Simon in 4

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