Gael Monfils and Dominic Thiem find themselves in a borderline must-win situation as they head into the second day of Group B round-robin action at the World Tour Finals on Tuesday. Their only previous meeting came last year on the clay courts of Umag, where Thiem won a roller-coaster 1-6, 6-3, 6-1 affair. They were scheduled to square off in the third round of this summer’s Cincinnati Masters, but Monfils pulled out before the match started.
Injury issues have continued to be a problem for both men, with the sixth-ranked Frenchman withdrawing from the recent Paris Masters because of a rib issue. He moved perfectly in his London opener against Milos Raonic on Sunday night but still lost 6-3, 6-4. Monfils, the reigning Washington, D.C. champion and a U.S. Open semifinalist, is 44-16 for the season.
“I came here with not even a week of practice,” Monfils said after losing to the Canadian. “I came here with three, four days for real practice. To be honest, (I’m) a bit sore. I can feel it straightaway, so it’s not a good sign…. But I’m telling you, [Raonic] played very good.”
Thiem played great for a while in his opener against Novak Djokovic, to the extent that he took the first set off the four-time defending champion. In a microcosm of his season, however, the ninth-ranked Austrian ran out of gas in a 6-7(10), 6-0, 6-2 defeat. Thiem is a stellar 57-23 for the 2016 campaign, but he is a mere 9-11 in his last 20 matches dating back to Wimbledon.
Both Thiem and Monfils admitted after their opening-day losses that they are not 100 percent physically. While this may be a battle of the walking wounded, they each impressed at times on Sunday and neither one was hobbled by any specific issue. Djokovic’s defense ended up being way too much for Thiem’s offense, and Monfils’ similarly impressive athleticism may force the 23-year-old to play too many extended baseline rallies.
Pick: Monfils in 3
[polldaddy poll=9579005]
who ya got?
Monfils in three.Not much faith in Thiem at the moment
I’m gonna go with Thiem in two or three sets (no more).
Thought he played well vs Nole but Nole was just too consistent whereas Monfils was feeling pain after his loss to Milos.
lol, your gravatar, hawk?
Coin flip – Monfils or Thiem.
Monfils in three
Definitely a toss up, but I’ll go with youth…Thiem in 3.
Hope Thiem can win 1 match here. Still waiting for that 1st GS.
Im going on Monfils just because he loves performing infront of an audience, played well in patches on Sunday, but I think will fare better this time around and wont have a giant serving aces left right and centre past him
So even though both players are hurting and low on gas, I think Monfils will have just that little more, well hopefully… Will have to see who brings it on the day, the big points, and crucial moments in the match
I think it will come down to Monfils being able to keep the unforced errors at a minimum. If he does that, there is no way Thiem, with his unimaginative way of playing, can beat him. Clay courts are one special surface where flair is not important. On indoors hard surface, don’t waste your efforts on Thiem, Tennis-Guru.
it’s possible!
Thiem can beat Monfils if he serves well. Thiem hits the ball really hard, if he combines good serving with big hitting and makes the point short, he can beat Monfils.
Monfils will do his usual acrobatic acts and retrieves everything and exhaust himself along the way. He should play a more offensive game the way he did at MC final this year against Rafa.
I voted for Theim in 3. At this rate he might do it in 2 🙂
You jinxed him!
Monfils up a break 3-0.
I know. Sorry 🙁
Spoke too soon. Monf has regathered his thought and gets the first break in the second set.
What’s up with Thiem and the second sets? He keeps losing the second sets convincingly…turns into a totally different person..
Thiem is more The Hare vs Tortoise than Eveready Bunny, for sure, no?
He is now 0-10 in 2nd set games this week.
Thiem breaks.
Thinking he’d be better off saving his remaining energy for the third set.
He’s like a young Dim Dim out there, Thiem fading at the moment, are you kidding me?
Thiem reduces the deficit. Looks like too little too late now.
But LaMonf is also in this generous mode today donating games to his opponent…overall not a WTF level tennis from either one…
Thiem still needs to develop the big match mentality.
Wow, LaMonf serving bombs like true maestro to win the second set! ??
Monfils holding after being down 0-40 will probably be the turning point of the match.
Monfils holds. Thiem hands the momentum to Monf. Battle of wills now at 5:5
So Thiem wins the match, congrats; able to win a match on his debut, not bad.
Rafa will drop to no.9 in the rankings now as Thiem now has 3415 points, ahead of Rafa’s 3300.
🙁
Oh, that’s not good news for Rafa!
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