A duel often encountered in previous years on the circuit will take place in the Dubai quarterfinals, a 100% French duel between Gael Monfils and Richard Gasquet.

Gael Monfils

◾️The 33-year-old French player is currently in 9th place in the ATP standings.
◾️He is one of the most fit players of the season, winning two consecutive trophies on the indoor hard, in Marseille and Rotterdam, his tennis showing excellent at the moment.
◾️Last week he took a competitive break, coming faster to Dubai to support Elina Svitolina, thus having more accommodation time.
◾️This was good luck, winning the previous two matches in Dubai in minimum sets, against Marton Fucsovics, respectively Yasutaka Uchiyama.

Richard Gasquet

◾️At 33, he is currently ranked 56th in the ATP rankings, making substantial efforts to return to the top 50 ATP.
◾️His style of play recommends him on the fast surfaces, having as main weapons the solid service and a right performance.
◾️He had an accident that kept him away from the field for about 3 months, returning this season to Montpellier, where he reached the quarter-finals.
◾️In the first round of this tournament he defeated South African Lloyd Harris, in a minimum of sets, while in the previous match he defeated a minimum of his compatriot, Benoit Paire.

🎾Direct meetings

▪️The two players have met so far 17 times, the score being 10-7 in favor of Gael Monfils, the last 2 meetings being won by him, in 2017 and 2018.

Gael Monfils

◾️Ranked no. 9, Monfils got to the 1st round after beating Marton Fucsovics 6-4 7-5 and Yasutaka Uchiyama 6-1 6-2.
◾️In the 2nd round, The French Player had a good straight sets win against Uchiyama (6-1 6-2).
◾️During the match Monfils scored 61 points vs Uchiyama’s 37.
◾️Monfils was extremely aggressive to blast 26 winners.
◾️Talking about serving, Monfils blasted 4 aces and he committed only 1 double fault for the entire match. Overall, Gael Monfils was extremely effective on serve to win 72% (26/36) of his 1st serve and 57% (8/14) on the second serve.
◾️However, this didn’t prevent his to concede the serve once.
◾️The French Player broke Uchiyama 5 times after converting 71% of his break points (5/7).

Richard Gasquet

◾️Ranked no. 56, Gasquet reached the 1st round after defeating Lloyd Harris 7-65 6-4 and Benoit Paire 6-4 6-4.
◾️In the 2nd round, The French Player had a good straight sets win against Paire (6-4 6-4).
◾️During the match Gasquet scored 72 points vs Paire’s 58. Gasquet was extremely aggressive to blast 26 winners.
◾️Talking about serving, Gasquet blasted 4 aces and he committed only 3 double faults. Richard Gasquet lost the serve 4 times and he saved 10 break points.
◾️Furthermore, Gasquet put 61% of his first serves in, winning 60% (26/43) of the points behind his 1st serve and 54% (15/28) on the 2nd serve.
◾️The French Player broke Paire 6 times after converting 67% of his break points (6/9).

Tennis Prediction of the Day Gael Monfils vs Richard Gasquet

Even if the direct duels were balanced, this direct match seems to be more unbalanced, the shape of the two players being different.
Richard Gasquet has just returned to the circuit after an injury that kept him out of the field for about 4 months, while Gael Monfils is one of the most fit players in the circuit, having won 2 tournaments this year.
I expect Monfils to be in control of this match and to pass a new direct victory.

Prediction Today: G. Monfils 2-0
Odds: 1.66