Pedro Martinez vs Gael Monfils Prediction & Betting Tips - ASB Classic

Prediction published on 05/01/2025, 09:00  by Steve Ashfield | Modified on 05/01/2025 at 10:01 in Tennis Predictions

Gael Monfils faces fellow unseeded player Pedro Martinez in the outdoor hard court ASB Classic first round. The winner of this match will be up against ninth seed Jan-Lennard Struff or unseeded Yunchaokete Bu in round two. Here's our match prediction.

While there have been some notable retirements in the past year, Gael Monfils doesn't seem to talk about the subject. He's now 38 but still 52nd in the live rankings. The Frenchman played in the Brisbane International last week. He reached round two but was beaten by top seed Novak Djokovic.

Monfils is still a very dangerous player when he hits form. Last year saw him get some big wins, including knocking Carlos Alcaraz out of the Cincinnati Masters. He also got to the last four in the Doha outdoor hard court tournament.

Pedro Martinez is at 43rd in the live rankings. Last week saw him lose in the last 16 of the Hong Kong Open and has lost four of his last five matches. He's had two previous matches against Monfils and is level at 1-1. His win came on a grass court with Monfils winning more recently on a hard court in 2022.

We tip Monfils to win this in straight sets.