Gael Monfils vs Carlos Alcaraz Prediction & Picks - ATP Cincinnati Open

Prediction published on 8/15/24, 3:00 PM  by Lou Aguila | Modified on 8/15/24 at 3:04 PM in ATP Cincinnati Open Picks

Carlos Alcaraz of Spain looks to stay in the hunt for the No.1 spot in the ATP World ranking, as he kicks off a new campaign on Thursday against veteran netter Gael Monfils of France in the second round of the 2024 Cincinnati Masters. Alcaraz begins his US Open preparation on Thursday after taking a week off the Main Tour to recover from a grueling campaign at the 2024 Paris Olympics. The Spaniard bagged the silver in his Olympic debut, losing to Novak Djokovic of Serbia in straight sets 7-6(3) 7-6(2). Monfils also competed for France at the 2024 Paris Olympics, but a first-round loss to the eventual bronze medalist Lorenzo Musetti 1-6, 4-6 freed up his schedule to compete at the National Bank Open in Montreal. Monfils got eliminated early in the tournament after absorbing 6-3 6-3 loss at the hands of Thanasi Kokkinakis of Australia. However, the Frenchman delivered one of his best performances this season after stunning Alexei Popyrin, the newly-crowned Canadian Open champion, 7-5 6-3 in the first round of the Cincinnati Open.