Querrey – Monaco

Big server Sam Querrey will take on Juan Monaco in the first round at the ATP event held in Nice.

Querrey reached the final in Houston in his first clay court tournament of the year, but that event has always been special, favorable to Americans and Big servers. It was actually one of Sam’s only highlights in a very poor season so far and it didn’t get any better on the European clay – with Querrey winning only 1 of 3 matches, a hard fought three setter with Kokkinakis. His last outing was a 6-7 0-6 loss to Tsonga in the Rome 2nd round last week.

Monaco is in pretty good form this season, climbing almost 30 spots in the rankings and surely eyeing a Top 20 finish at the end of the year. He was knocked out in the 2nd round at all 4 tournaments on European clay, but he actually played pretty good – meeting tough opponents and beating the likes of Vesely and Almagro. The Argentinean seemed to be really sharp last week in Rome, defeating an inspired Dusan Lajovic and taking a set from Wawrinka. I was impressed with his consistency from the baseline, just like in the good old days when he was challenging the Top 10.

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The Head 2 Head reads a 3-1 advantage for Monaco (2-0 on clay), but the pair never met since 2010. Obviously the surface in Nice gives Monaco a huge advantage, especially due to the fact that the clay is particularly slow.

Watching Monaco playing so well from the baseline last week, it`s hard for me to envision Querrey winning too many points in other ways than his serve / forehand combo. Monaco was spotless in terms of his defending, at one time he led Lajovic 6-3 3-1 even if he did not hit a single winner! With the Argentinean sure to make very few unforced errors today, Querrey will need to step up and find the lines, something that will result in lots of errors considering his playing style, his form and the slow clay here in Nice.

My tip is Juan Monaco to win with a 3 game asian handicap – the line is reasonable and Juan should do well to get one more break per set than Querrey. Even a 7-6 6-3 wins the bet and the line can be covered in 3 sets as well. Prediction: Sam Querrey – Juan Monaco 4-6 4-6.

Live streaming for Querey vs Monaco (ATP Nice) available for all players at Bet365.com.

Pick: Monaco -3 game hc.
Odds: 1.88 @ Pinnacle
Stake: 8
Possible profit: 7.04
Event date: 19 May