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Gael Monfils and Kei Nishikori will square off on Thursday night in the second round at the US Open.
Monfils hasn`t played any tennis in the month prior to the US Open as he was nursing an injury, and in fact didn`t play a hard court match since Indian Wells back in March. That showed in the first part of his first round match against Bagnis (a below average opponent), as he struggled in the first two sets (7-6 3-6), arguably being lucky not to go down 0-2. However, once he got in rhythm, Monfils was unstoppable, winning the last 12 games of the match for a 7-6 3-6 6-0 6-0 win. He showed no signs of injury or rust in the last two sets and will look to carry that form into the second round.
Nishikori hasn`t been that great lately, posting only a 3-3 win-loss record in the US Summer hard court season before the US Open. He didn`t have any problems in the first round here at Flushing Meadows, losing just 7 games against Marterer and looking pretty solid overall. On the other hand, it`s true that the opponent was modest.
Bet on Monfils vs Nishikori and claim your 100% (100 Eur) freebet at Ohmbet now!Nishikori leads the H2H 3-1 (2-1 on hard courts), but that holds little relevance considering all matches were close and needed a deciding set. Also, Monfils won the last meeting between the two, exactly one year ago in Montreal.
Neither player has been at his best recently and this match will provide us with a better indication about their level. In this respect the result could be a bit tricky to predict, but that is not reflected in the odds – with Nishikori considered a heavy favorite at odds as low as 1.40.
Monfils did have an easy opponent in the first round, and Bagnis was really poor in the second part of that match, but the fact that Monfils won the last two sets 6-0 6-0 is still a remarkable achievement. He clearly found his rhythm after the first two sets and was almost flawless in the last two. He seemed 100% physically as well, running like crazy and looking very energyzed overall.
With the above in mind, it`s fair to expect Monfils to come out strong, with good rhythm and full of confidence. Considering the high odds on him, and the fact that Nishikori has been far from impressive lately, a bet on the Frenchman makes sense.
I reckon Gael`s chances to win this are closer to 50% than to what the bookies suggest, so my tip here will be Monfils to win. Prediction: Gael Monfils – Kei Nishikori 7-6 3-6 6-4 6-7 6-4.
Pick: Monfils
Odds: 3.03 @ 1xBet
Stake: 8
Possible profit: 16.24
Event date: 30 August
