Ernests Gulbis and David Ferrer will be back in action on Wednesday in Valencia after mostly productive Stockholm campaigns. They are going up against John Isner and Gael Monfils, respectively.
Ernests Gulbis vs. (4) John Isner
Isner and Gulbis will be going head-to-head for the third time in their careers when they clash in round one of the Valencia Open on Wednesday afternoon. Gulbis has won both of their previous encounters; 7-5, 7-5, 6-7(3), 7-6(6) at Wimbledon in 2008 and 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 earlier this season on the clay courts of Monte-Carlo. As those results indicate, Isner simply is not the same player away from the United States as he is at home. The 14th-ranked American had another outstanding U.S. Open Series, but he is just 3-2 this fall with no impressive wins and a pair of dreadful performances in his two losses.
Gulbis’ post-Wimbledon path has been of an opposite nature. The 25th-ranked Latvian was mostly a disaster on American hard courts aside from a quarterfinal run in Montreal. In Europe, though, he captured the St. Petersburg title last month and he is coming off a semifinal showing in Stockholm–where he lost to David Ferrer in three sets. Gulbis has a history of impressively handling big servers like Isner and Ivo Karlovic, and this setting will only help his chances against Valencia’s No. 4 seed.
Pick: Gulbis in 3
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(1) David Ferrer vs. Gael Monfils
Ferrer and Monfils will be squaring off for the fifth time in their careers on Wednesday. Monfils leads the head-to-head series 3-1, but they have split a pair of hard-court meetings and Ferrer dominated their most recent encounter 6-1, 6-2 early this season in the Auckland semifinals. Monfils is in far better form this fall, but his health is always an issue. The 31st-ranked Frenchman, a quarterfinalist in Shanghai, did not look 100 percent last week in a first-round Vienna loss to Jaroslav Pospisil.
A more successful week for Ferrer saw him advance to the Stockholm final before losing to Grigor Dimitrov in three sets. The third-ranked Spaniard is 52-19 for the entire year but a modest 12-7 since Wimbledon. Based on the indoor surface, his past history against Ferrer, and the top seed’s relatively lackluster form, Monfils would normally have a great chance in this one. However, it is a major question if he can stand up both mentally and physically against a dogged fighter of an opponent in a match that is sure to feature grueling baseline rallies.
Pick: Ferrer in 3
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I am rooting for Ferrer.
I voted Gulbis in 3.
Gulbis in three with at least one tiebreak and one racquet abuse warning.
Monfils in three with al least one time abuse warning.
Isner in 2
messed up the Ferrer poll. Damnit.