TennisSection previews the 2022 Madrid Open as Novak Djokovic takes on Gael Monfils in the second round on Tuesday, May 3rd, 2022.
Top seed Novak Djokovic will need to win his second-round match against Gael Monfils to keep his world No. 1 ranking. The Serbian star has never lost to the Frenchman throughout his career, winning all previous 17 matches. But this could be Monfils’ best chance to snap that losing streak, will he do it?
Novak Djokovic is the top seed at this week’s Madrid Open. But the Serbian star is not the clear front runner to lay his hands onthe trophy. Djokovic’s absence from a handful of high-profile events this year have come at a cost – his form plummeting, and lacking match practice. The 34-year-old told reporters on the eve of the tournament that he has been mentally and emotionally affected by the turn of events in Australia and in subsequent months. While the general feeling is that he is struggling physically to close out matches, Djokovic has pointed out it has been more of mental battle against himself. So, now that he has been able to get some much needed momentum under his belt in Belgrade, could he go deep again in Madrid?
Gael Monfils, has had no such problems winning tennis matches in 2022. In fact he is into double-digit match wins for the season and has already bagged a title (in Adelaide). Monfils was in action in his first round at the Madrid Open where he dismantled Spanish wild card Gimeno Valero 6-3 6-0 in next to no time. The Frenchman broke serve four times. He also won staggering 93% first-serve points to complete the rout.
As mentioned at the top of the article, Novak Djokovic is a whopping 17-0 against Gael Monfils. There have been some close matches in this one-sided rivalry most notably in Dubai in 2020 where the flamboyant Frenchman spurned multiple match points. There is a seed of doubt in Djokovic’s game right now and he looks extremely vulnerable. Nonetheless, he holds a psychological edge in this matchup against Monfils and should be expected to win.
Free Tennis Pick and Prediction:Novak Djokovic to win in 3 sets.
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