Novak Djokovic has breezed into the second round of the Australian Open and now his opponent will be the Frenchman Gael Monfils.
In the last round, Djokovic won over American Donald Young (6-1, 6-2, 6-4) in a very solid display where he never looked in danger. Monfils also won in straight sets but he wasn’t as dominant as he won 6-3, 7-6 and 6-4 against Spaniard Jaume Munar, ranked 184th in the world.
Djokovic is ranked 14th in the world and Monfils is 39th in the world, although it’s pretty safe to say that both men than what their rankings currently represent. Whether it’s due to injury or to a lack of form over the last few months both these men are definitely a lot better than what their rankings currently show.
Going into this matchup Djokovic is being considered the favorite and for good reason, he has a superb head-to-head record against the Frenchman as he is 16-0 in his career.
They have met in numerous Grand Slam matches, including the U.S Open and Roland Garros, but never in the Australian Open. Their last meeting was last year in Eastbourne and that was on grass.
Monfils is the type of player that Djokovic loves to play as he likes to grind opponents down, drag them from one side of the court to the other to show them he is in command as he gets into their head.
When games get tough for Monfils he tends to shy away and goes missing and that’s exactly what Djokovic wants.
However, make no mistake about it, Monfils has a massive amount of talent, but it’s just the way he harnesses these abilities and how he displays them on the court what has kept him from climbing to the next level of tennis.
If he really puts his all into it Monfils could one day become a Grand Slam winner, he has that much talent and athleticism, but he apparently lacks determination as he prefers to play to entertain the crowd than to win. Too bad that’s all he wants to be because that’s been detrimental to his tennis career.
Although it’s obviously the beginning of the season, Monfils has played more this year as he’s played some excellent tennis against some great opponents. He actually won the 2018 Doha tournament, where he defeated the likes of Austrian Dominic Thiem and Russian Andrey Rublev, so Monfils is currently showing some very good form.
If he continues to show that good form, he could perhaps upset Djokovic. Yes, he is 0-16 in the head-to-head, but records are made to be broken and he has the skills and the talent to do it.
With Monfils is more about the mental ability when he’s playing someone as good as the Serbian. Monfils game is solid right now, but he needs to be exceptional to beat Djokovic.
The Frenchman may win a set, or at the most two, but he won’t defeat Djokovic. The Serbian should be able to get the job done without too much pressure and definitely move on to the third round.
