VS
One of the interesting matches of the first round in The French Open
is the one between Olivier Rochus (BEL) and Gael Monfils (FRA).
Rochus comes into Roland Garros on a five-match losing streak and has
won just two matches on clay in 2007. He defeated Chris Guccione in Davis Cup,
and also advanced to the second round at AMS Rome, defeating Michael Llodra.
Rochus is playing at Roland Garros for the seventh successive year and has
lost in the first round on two of his previous six appearances. Last year,
Rochus advanced to the third round here before losing to Alberto Martin.
Monfils arrived at Portschach on an eight-match losing streak. The last time
that he had won back-to-back matches in 2007 was at the Australian Open,
where he advanced to the third round before losing to Richard Gasquet.
Monfils reached the fifth final of his career at Portschach.
Monfils is making his third successive appearance at Roland Garros. Last year,
Monfils reached the round of 16 here, before losing to Novak Djokovic.
This is the furthest that Monfils has ever progressed at a major.
In head-to-head Rochus leads 3:0 beating Monfils twice on hard courts
and once on clay.
Based on Monfils’s performance in Portschach last week, the fact that
he did not beat Rochus in his career, home crowd and Rochus’s bad form,
we might see the talented frenchman advance to the second round.
[…] For the other info on Gael Monfils click on the related post below. Monfils […]