Betting odds, Tennis Tip & Prediction for Gael Monfils – Alexander Zverev
Beaten the first veteran, the second is already waiting – Alexander Zverev will once again face a player in Indian Wells against whom he could never win in his very young years.
First it was Andy Murray, now it will be Gael Monfils. He wants to achieve what Murray failed to do: destroy the German’s top form. But Zverev is considered one of the absolute favourites for the title at this PNB Paribas Open, so a round of 16 exit is not in the cards at all!
Two Masters wins, other tournament victories, two semi-finals at Grand Slams and on top the Olympic victory – Alexander Zverev is definitely not only playing the most successful, but also the most consistent year of his career.
Novak Djokovic is not competing in Indian Wells, so he and Daniil Medvedev are hot contenders for the trophy. However, the two can only meet in the final, as Zverev is in the lower table.
While some are already thinking about a possible semi-final against Stefanos Tsitsipas, Zverev first has to get through his round of 16. He struggled a little in the 1st round against Jenson Brooksby, dropping a set 6-4, 3-6, 1-6.
In the hard-fought duel with Andy Murray, the Hamburg native then showed that he is simply not to be broken in top form. It was not an easy match, but in the end he took a smooth 6-4, 7-6-.
His first serve improved only slightly, still no 75% coming over the net.
The Olympic champion can now concentrate fully on the singles, because he and Jan-Lennard Struff have already been eliminated in the doubles. Now Zverev has achieved something that cannot be taken for granted.
Murray, Federer, Nadal and Djokovic, this quartet is known as the “Big Four”, the four best players of a period. Zverev has now won against all four of them at least once.
Against Murray he won the first set, although he was already 3-0 down. Would such a comeback also be possible against Gael Monfils? The Frenchman is even a year older than Murray and is not thinking about quitting at the moment.
Why should he, he’s serving like he was at his best! He was already ranked number 7 in the world when Zverev was still a teenager. His marriage to Elina Svitolina seems to have done him good in terms of sport.
In Indian Wells he started with a commanding 6-4, 6-2 win over Gianluca Mager, this victory was followed by a 7-5, 6-2 win over Kevin Anderson. Of course, these two were by no means on the same level as Alexander Zverev.
But Monfils has shown in recent months that he can upset the big boys too. In Sofia he lost the final to Jannik Sinner, in Metz he was narrowly eliminated by the eventual finalist Pablo Carreno Busta.
At the US Open, it was also Sinner who defeated him in five sets. Before that in Cincinnati, Andrey Rublev needed a tiebreak twice. No question, this Gael Monfils wants to get back into the Top 10.
But in his 3rd round against Kevin Anderson, he also showed his nervous side, made ten double faults and won fewer points than returners. His 3:0 lead against Zverev won’t help him much either.
The direct comparison of my Monfils Zverev tips recognises a clear 3:0 for the Frenchman. With a big “but”, because the three matches were at least five years ago. In any case, the German is far ahead with the bookmakers.
A victory for the Olympic champion? You can save that one for yourself, it doesn’t bring in 1.25. Of course, the 24-year-old is also in my favour, even if he had to fight quite hard in both rounds.
Monfils is an unpleasant opponent, on good days only very few can return his serve. In the last few months, he didn’t beat any of the greats, but still gave them a great fight.
That’s exactly what I expect for the round of 16 against Zverev. The Frenchman won’t make it too easy for him, but if he goes through smoothly, at least the two sets will probably take a little longer.
