Only two of the sixteen Second Round matches have been played and that means fourteen matches are scheduled to be played through the day. Some big names return on Tuesday having not played for a few weeks since the Australian Open as both Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal begin their build ups towards the French Open.
In a Masters event it can be easy to be caught cold as some of the top names have played limited tennis since the first Grand Slam of the season. They will be going up against opponents who have been moving across the Tour and also someone who has won at least one match at this tournament so are comfortable in the conditions and it can be a ripe situation for an upset or two.
After a slow start to the week, I am hoping I can avoid some of those upsets and put some solid winners on the board as the tournament goes on.
Novak Djokovic - 3.5 games v Jannik Sinner: The Australian Open Champion returns for the first time since winning the opening Grand Slam of the 2021 season and Novak Djokovic is certainly going to be welcomed back by what looks like being a special talent on the Tour.
Jannik Sinner has already won a match here in Monte Carlo and he reached the Final of the first Masters of the season in Miami, albeit a tournament that is played on the hard courts. However it is felt that the Italian can play his best tennis on the clay courts and underlined his potential by beating Stefanos Tsitsipas, David Goffin and Alexander Zverev on this surface in the Autumn of 2020, while Sinner also pushed Rafael Nadal considerably harder than most would have thought at the French Open.
The confidence of the 19 year old cannot be underestimated and I really think Jannik Sinner takes to the court with the belief he can win every match he plays. There is also a real mental toughness displayed by Sinner and he showed that in his run to the Miami Masters Final having won matches where he looked to be under intense pressure from the opponent he was playing.
A solid serve and a very encouraging return game makes Jannik Sinner a dangerous opponent not only here in Monaco, but also when the draw for the French Open is made next month.
I have little doubt that Novak Djokovic is well aware of what he is going to be seeing from the other side of the net, but the Serb has long been one of the top three clay court players in the world along with Nadal and Dominic Thiem. After winning the Australian Open, Djokovic made it clear that his remaining ambitions in his career is trying to win as many Slams as possible and the rest of the Tour is solely about building towards each Slam.
However that does not mean Novak Djokovic will be taking to the court at other events without the intention of winning them and his return in Monte Carlo will be the start of a number of important weeks for the World Number 1. In recent seasons Novak Djokovic has not been able to have as deep a run in Monaco as you would imagine, but he should be comfortable in the conditions with a base here and I do think he showed how happy he is on the clay courts by winning the Rome Masters and reaching the French Open Final in a shortened clay court season in 2020.
Novak Djokovic is someone who has an elite return game and he is able to really get that side of his game going on this surface.
As well as Jannik Sinner has played on the clay courts in 2020 and in general in 2021, the Italian is likely to be put under pressure from Novak Djokovic once the World Number 1 gets his eye in. I do think it will be a competitive match with some strong tennis from both of these players, but Novak Djokovic is very confident on the clay courts and I think he will find a way to edge past this number of games on the handicap.
David Goffin - 2.5 games v Marco Cecchinato: He may have dropped back to Number 92 in the World Rankings and is now under pressure to hold onto a top 100 place, but Marco Cecchinato has an opportunity to at least pick up some vital World Ranking points in the weeks ahead. The Italian is still very capable of playing his best tennis on the clay courts, although he has not really found the consistency that he showed in 2018.
It is almost three full years since Marco Cecchinato reached the French Open Semi Final and he showed flashes of what is capable of by making it through to the Third Round at the same Grand Slam played at the back end of 2020. That was an encouraging run and Cecchinato had some solid results in other events too, although it has been more of a struggle to open this season.
At least the Italian can point to the three wins he has earned in Monte Carlo as a sign that there is perhaps going to be a turn in form having previously been 2-7 in matches played in 2021 before those victories. He has come through two Qualifying matches and then beaten a fellow Qualifier on his way to the Second Round, but that will mean Marco Cecchinato is going to be stronger if he is going to progress past a top 20 Ranked opponent.
David Goffin is a hard player to get that excited about having been so inconsistent over the last couple of years and fallen out of the top ten having reached a peak career Ranking in November 2017. The Belgian won a tough First Round match against Marin Cilic on Sunday, but David Goffin had lost three matches in row before the win over the veteran and his numbers in 2021 have been nothing to write home about.
He has previously shown some decent form on the clay courts, although David Goffin lost both matches played on the surface in 2020 without winning a set. There was a struggle in all aspects of his tennis in those two losses to Jannik Sinner and Marin Cilic, but Goffin is a player that has a decent return on the clay courts and is capable of getting enough of his serve to restrict the kind of damage a returner like Marco Cecchinato is able to create.
I do think David Goffin has to be encouraged about this Second Round match when you see some of the issues Marco Cecchinato has had behind serve and that can at least ease some of the pressure on the Goffin serve.
Mentally there may be some good memories for Cecchinato to take into the match having beaten David Goffin when these two last met on the clay courts which came at the French Open in 2018. However, Goffin has since beaten him on the hard courts and I do think David Goffin can edge to a victory here having been the superior return player of the two.
MY PICKS: Novak Djokovic - 3.5 Games @ 1.91 Bet Fred (2 Units)
David Goffin - 2.5 Games @ 1.91 Bet Fred (2 Units)
Filip Krajinovic - 4.5 Games @ 1.83 Bet365 (2 Units)
Alexei Popyrin - 1.5 Games @ 1.83 Bet365 (2 Units)
Hubert Hurkacz - 2.5 Games @ 1.80 Bet Fred (2 Units)
Monte Carlo Masters Update: 2-4, - 4.58 Units (12 Units Staked, - 38.17% Yield)
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