In Cincy, Monfils Keeps Mounting Case For London
In Cincy, Monfils Keeps Mounting Case For London
Isner also wins to set-up 2R clash with Raonic
Gael Monfils began the Western & Southern Open on Tuesday with a routine win in Cincinnati. The Frenchman lost only nine points on his serve (36/45) to prevail past Pablo Carreno Busta of Spain 6-3, 6-4 in one hour and four minutes.
Ninth seed Monfils never faced a break point and broke the 25 year old twice in the first set and at 6-5 in the second set. The 29 year old improved to 34-11 this season, including 27-7 on hard courts. Monfils also continued to boost his chances to play at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals at The O2 in London, scheduled for 13-20 November.
Monfils is currently in eighth place in the Emirates ATP Race To London, thanks to recent deep runs on the North American hard courts. Last month, he won his first ATP World Tour 500 title at the Citi Open (d. Karlovic). At the Rogers Cup in Toronto, he reached the semi-finals of the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournament (l. to Djokovic).
In Cincinnati, he’ll try to get past the quarter-finals, which he reached in 2011. Monfils will next face Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis, who beat Canadian Vasek Pospisil 7-5, 7-5.
John Isner will put his 3-0 FedEx ATP Head2Head record against Milos Raonic on the line when the two meet in the second round. Isner, No. 22 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, took 77 minutes to eliminate Italian Fabio Fognini 6-3, 6-2 on Tuesday.
The top-ranked American is coming off his first ATP World Tour final of the season at the BB&T Atlanta Open (l. to Kyrgios). The 6’10” right-hander last beat Raonic in March 2015 on the hard courts in Miami. Isner won 6-7(3), 7-6(6), 7-6(5). Of the seven sets they’ve played, five have ended in a tie-break.
“It’s going to be a tough match for both of us. I’m looking forward to it. Of course it could come down to a few points here or there… Milos is obviously one of the best players in the game right now. I have so much respect for him as well. He does everything the right way,” Isner said. “I believe I can win the match as well. I feel like I’m starting to turn the corner on things.”
