Frances Tiafoe vs Gael Monfils Prediction & Betting Tips - ATP Vienna

Prediction published on 26/10/2023, 07:05  by Devesh Jaganath | Modified on 26/10/2023 at 09:05 in Tennis Predictions

World number 14 Frances Tiafoe will take on 77th-ranked Gael Monfils in the second round of the ATP Vienna Open on Thursday. The winner of this match will move on to face either Lorenzo Sonego or Jannik Sinner in the quarter-final. These two have met twice in the past and have won one match apiece on the hard surface. Tiafoe got through to this round after Daniel Evans retired during the first set in round one. Notably, the Brit was leading the set 4-1 before pulling out. Tiafoe has been struggling since his quarter-final appearance at the US Open. He failed to win any of his previous four matches ahead of this tournament and did little to inspire confidence in his first-round match against Evans. However, despite the manner of victory in the last match, it will still give the American a much-needed boost of confidence, whose record is now 39-19 and 21-10 on the hard court. Can he claim back-to-back wins for the first time in two months? 

Meanwhile, Monfils will come into this match brimming with confidence. Not only is his opponent struggling at the moment, but he himself is in excellent form. The Frenchman earned his first ATP title for the year last week in Stockholm, overcoming the likes of Adrian Mannarino and Laslo Djere en route to the final. There he faced Pavel Kotov and emerged with the victory in three sets. Here in Vienna, Monfils beat 47th-ranked Daniel Altmaier in straight sets in round one. And, in contrast to his opponent, Monfils has only failed to get past round two once in his last five hard-court tournaments. After missing a big chunk of the season through injury, the Frenchman seems to have found his best form of late and will be looking to continue improving his 16-13 record this year, which includes 8-8 on the hard surface. Monfils is the marginal favourite in this one.