Stefanos Tsitsipas faces a really tough challenge in the second round of the Canadian Open against Gael Monfils.
Monfils is back to doing what he's been doing for basically 15 years on the ATP Tour now - defying physics and entertaining crowds. It's good to have him, especially after a somber tone recently where he admitted that he's not going to play for much longer.
This might be the final time he plays in Toronto and he wants to give the crowd something to remember. There was plenty of that in his first-round match against Christopher Eubanks, a pretty strong win in three sets.
As for Tsitsipas, well, he's having a really good time right now after his triumph in Los Cabos a few days ago. He'll be pretty confident in his level, but very different conditions await him in Toronto. It's a faster court with less humidity, but that's not necessarily bad news.
He can play pretty well in fast conditions as he demonstrated earlier this year by playing in the Australian final. His serve certainly won't mind it, but it will give Monfils plenty of chances as well. So how will this one go? Let's find out.
Head-to-head
They have played three times so far, with Tsitsipas winning twice. All of the matches happened a while ago with the most recent one being in 2019. Tsitsipas won that one in three sets, and it was an outdoor hard-court event. The only one Monfils won happened indoors.
Prediction
So this is a very interesting matchup that promises to be very close. For one we should see both dominate on the serve but the speed of Monfils will give him chances to frustrate Tsitsipas. Whether he takes them or not remains to be seen but he can actually win the match.
Prediction: Gael Monfils to win in three sets.
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