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10/16/08 11:33 PM | Ricky Dimon
Two of the game's brightest young stars and two of the hottest players on tour will collide on Friday. It's Gael Monfils vs. Andy Murray in the quarterfinals of the Masters Series Madrid.
It will be the third career head-to-head meeting for Gael Monfils and Andy Murray when the two surging stars meet on Friday for a semifinal spot in Madrid. The series is split 1-1 (Murray won two years ago in straight sets at the Masters Series Hamburg; Monfils got revenge a few weeks later in five sets at the French Open), but both meetings came on clay so the past history has little bearing on this most recent Monfils-Murray installment.
It's also extremely difficult to give either Monfils or Murray the edge in current form. The bottom line is that both men are nothing short of on fire. Last week Monfils finished runner-up at the BA Tennis Trophy, where he fell to Philipp Petzschner in the final. Needing two hours and 51 minutes to outlast Philipp Kohlschreiber in a third-set tiebreaker one day earlier put a severe dent in Monfils' title hopes. Nonetheless, his strong run in Vienna catapulted the 22-year-old to career-high ranking of 18th in the world and continued a remarkable hot streak. Monfils reached the quarterfinals of the Olympics, the fourth round of the U.S. Open, and the semifinals in Bangkok in his previous three tournaments. The Frechman is on a blistering run through Madrid, as well, having crushed both Fabio Fognini and Fernando Gonzalez before upsetting No. 8 seed Andy Roddick in three sets.
Unlike Monfils, Murray has taken some time off recently, but his form has been borderline flawless of late and that has continued to be the case this week. This is the 21-year-old Scot's first ATP tournament since the Open, although he did win two singles matches in a Davis Cup tie last month. He did, after all, deserve a decent break. Murray, who has established himself as the clear-cut No. 4 player in the world this year, won the Masters Series Cincinnati this summer and then soared all the way to the U.S. Open final--beating Rafael Nadal in the semis--before succumbing to Roger Federer. So far in Madrid, Murray has taken out Simone Bolelli and dangerous Croat Marin Cilic.
This is not an ideal matchup for Murray, as he prefers to play guys who give him pace to work with. Murray especially fares well against big servers who also attack the net, because he has extraordinary passing shots and an amazing return of serve. Monfils can do all of that (serve, attack the net, etc.), but he can also spend all day long at the baseline tracking down everything and keeping balls in play. Shots that normally go for winners off Murray's racket will often come back, and that could frustrate him. If Monfils keeps playing as aggressively as he has been throughout the past month, he will be able to dictate play and target the Murray forehand. Monfils in a three-set upset is the pick.
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Did you know that... Jimmy Connors is the only player to have won the US Open on grass, clay and hard court.
homos, Jan 8, 2009 1:20 PM
homos, Jan 8, 2009 12:22 PM
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jean, Jan 8, 2009 11:07 AM
gordana, Jan 8, 2009 9:51 AM
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RocketQueen, Jan 7, 2009 3:06 AM
Gael Monfils
Andy Murray
ATP Masters Series Madrid
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