The Winston-Salem draw may be somewhat depleted, but a pair of intriguing third-round matches are set for Wednesday. Tommy Robredo is going up against Gael Monfils while Juan Monaco meets Alexandr Dolgopolov.
(15) Gael Monfils vs. (4) Tommy Robredo
Monfils and Robredo will be facing each other for the fifth time in their careers and for the second time this season when they collide in round three of the Winston-Salem Open on Wednesday. Robredo leads the head-to-head series 3-1, including 1-0 on hard courts. They met earlier this summer in the third round of the French Open, where Monfils led by two sets only to see Robredo prevail 2-6, 6-7(5), 6-2, 7-6(3), 6-2. That is their only encounter since 2007 and their only previous hard-court clash came in 2005.
Robredo has been in resurgent form in 2013, with a 31-16 record to show for his efforts. The 31-year-old Spaniard, who is up to No. 22 in the world, is coming off a third-round performance in Cincinnati and he held off Guillaume Rufin in three sets on Tuesday night. Monfils has also dealt with injuries but he is not quite as far along in his most recent comeback. The 43rd-ranked Frenchman is 26-16 for the year following a 6-2, 6-2 blowout of Guido Pella in his Winston-Salem opener. Monfils does not have home-court advantage this time around like he did at Roland Garros, but surface may be a bigger factor. On the hard stuff, Monfils will likely have too much firepower for Robredo.
Pick: Monfils in 3
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(8) Juan Monaco vs. (10) Alexandr Dolgopolov
Monaco and Dolgopolov will be squaring off for the first time in their careers on Wednesday. Both players earned an opening-round bye then did well to win their openers and advance to the third round. Monaco overcame Nicolas Mahut 6-7(4), 6-3, 6-4 while Dolgopolov battled past Daniel Gimeno-Traver 4-6, 6-1, 6-4.
The two Winston-Salem seeds could use momentum boosts heading into the U.S. Open. Dolgopolov is in especially dire need of wins, as he is 17-19 for the season and slumping through a stretch in which he has won two of his last eight matches dating back to the Wimbledon third round. Monaco is a modest 25-19 for the year, which includes a recent runner-up finish on the clay courts of Kitzbuhel. Based on current form and superior consistency to the mercurial Ukrainian, Monaco is the safer choice.
Pick: Monaco in 2
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