Novak Djokovic vs Gaël Monfils: Betting on Djokovic's First Clay 2:0

The first opponent for Novak Djokovic at the Madrid tournament will be Frenchman Gael Monfils, #21 in the world. The guys know each other very well, met two dozen times at multiple contests, though only once on a clay court - on the Roland Garros. It is noteworthy that for so many personal meetings, the Frenchman has never beaten the Serb!

 Before Spain, the Serb played one match in Monte Carlo, dropping out and losing to Davidovic Fokina in Belgrade. In Serbia the Balkan played four games and reached the final, where he fell to Rublev in three sets. It seemed as if Novak was gaining momentum in the tournament, but he crashed out and failed the final. More than a week has passed since then. Let's see if Djokovic has managed to maintain his clay tonus and win without giving a set. Recall that Djokovic has lost the first game in all of his matches on the clay so far in 2022.

For Monfils, the tournament in Madrid is the first clay one of the season. We have not seen the Frenchman before Madrid on the court since March 28 and the match at the tournament in Miami against Cerundolo, lost in two games. In the Spanish capital, Gaël, unlike Djokovic, who missed the first round, managed to play one match. The challenger of the Frenchman was local wild card Gimeno Valero, #369 in the world. Gaël had no problem outplaying him, the match lasted less than an hour, the score was 6-3, 6-0 in favor of Monfils. A solid start but Valero and Djokovic can hardly be compared. Obviously, the Frenchman will face a completely different level of resistance today.

[Playing Djokovic] is going to be a big challenge for me. I have never beaten him on the ATP Tour. I am getting my rhythm back as well and it is funny because he is too but has more matches on clay than me. I will try and make good decisions on the court, to try and beat him. The guy is better than me, that is it,” said Monfils. “Every match is an opportunity to win, I try to take some lessons. He can beat me tomorrow and maybe at Rome and then Roland Garros, and then maybe I can beat him once.

Monfils before match with Djokovic

Djokovic played five clay matches in 2022, all of them in 3 sets, and the Serb lost the first game in each. Djokovic noticed this fact when he was still in Belgrade and he said he had to change something. Then Novak fell the first set to Rublev in the final and then blew the tournament in his homeland. More than a week has passed since then, Djokovic had time to work on his mistakes, and Monfils, though a very serious opponent, is a comfortable enough for him, given their lopsided personal stats. We believe that Novak today will not only beat Gaël Monfils, but for the first time in the season will win on the clay in two games. 

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