Day 4 of the ATP Open Sud de France in Montpellier is here! It’s been a fun week of tennis and the action continues on Thursday in France. Who will reach the quarterfinals and who will fall short? Read on to find out!
ATP Montpellier Day 4 Predictions
David Goffin vs Alexander Bublik
Head to Head: never played
David Goffin has had a good start to the season, going 5-2 so far in 2020, including a big win over Rafael Nadal at ATP Cup. Goffin also reached the third round of the Australian Open, but lost a tough four-set match against Andrey Rublev. Alexander Bublik won a tight opening round match in Montpellier, beating Henri Lakksonen in a third set tiebreaker. Goffin is a clean ball strikes and has good anticipation of his opponents’ shots. Bublik has a huge serve and good touch, but struggles with double faults and groundstrokes at times.
While Bublik will be able to blow Goffin off the court at times, there will be other times he will be a bit wild. Goffin is the steadier player and that will be the difference in this match.
Prediction: Goffin in 3
Feliciano Lopez vs Richard Gasquet
Head to Head: 6-1 Gasquet
Feliciano Lopez started his Montpellier campaign strong, taking down Ugo Humbert in straight sets in his opening round match. Richard Gasquet had an excellent return from injury, comfortably beating Gilles Simon. Gasquet has dominated the head to head 6-1, with Lopez’s only win on grass. Lopez has a huge lefty serve, a biting backhand slice, and fantastic net play. Gasquet’s backhand is both heavy and precise. Gasquet has a good handle of how to play against Lopez’s net-rushing game, and given how good he looked in his comeback from injury against Simon, Gasquet will win this match. But, it will be tight.
Prediction: Gasquet in 3
Felix Auger-Aliassime vs Pierre Hugues-Herbert
Head to Head: never played
Felix Auger-Aliassime got through a tough first round match, coming back from a set down to take down Damir Dzumhur. Pierre Hugues-Herbert had a comfortable victory over Sergiy Stakhovsky. Auger-Aliassime plays power tennis, but sometimes he will overhit. Herbert focuses on getting to the net and has excellent volleying skills. Herbert, who is from France, will have the crowd on his side. Herbert also has the game to make Auger-Aliassime uncomfortable, as his constant presence at the net certainly has the ability to frustrate Auger-Aliassime. Expect an upset in the round of 16 in Montpellier.
Prediction: Herbert in 3
Gael Monfils vs Adrian Mannarino
Head to Head: tied 2-2
Gael Monfils had a pretty good start to the season, going 4-2 and reaching the fourth round of the Australian Open. Adrian Mannarino picked up his first win of the year in the first round of Montpellier, beating Alexei Popyrin in a strange match. Mannarino won 6-0, (7)6-7, 6-0. The head to head is tied 2-2, but Monfils and Mannarino have never played on a hard court. Neither player is very aggressive, with both content to play more defensive tennis. Mannarino hits a very flat ball, while Monfils uses much more topspin in comparison.
Monfils has a little more power than Mannarino and he has more variety. Off of grass (where Mannarino leads the head to head 2-1), Monfils has the advantage in this matchup. Monfils will move on to the quarterfinals.
Prediction: Monfils in 2
Main Photo from Getty.
Disagree with our ATP Montpellier Day 4 Predictions? As always, feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments.
