World number 11 Gael Monfils will have his task cut out when he faces Emil Ruusuvuori in the first round of the 2021 Australian Open on Monday, February 8, with the match likely to begin at around 10 am local time (11 pm BST or 6 pm Eastern Time previous day). Get the live streaming options of this Gael Monfils v Emil Ruusuvuori match along with its preview, head to head, and tips here.
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Gael Monfils v Emil Ruusuvuori Head to Head
There have been no previous matches played between Monfils and Ruusuvuori.
Also Read:
Monfils Hasn’t Won Since the Pandemic Break
It looked to be all going his way in 2020 before the pandemic stuck and Monfils lost his way. How else does one explain the form dichotomy between the two phases, pre and post the pandemic break for the Frenchman?
In top form in the first half of the year in 2020, Monfils managed to reach the fourth round at the Australian Open, semifinal at Dubai but more vitally also won two titles to go with that – in Montpellier and Rotterdam.
When the season resumed, Monfils opted not to play in the American swing but that meant he came up on the clay courts of Rome, Hamburg and Paris – losing in the first round each time. And then at the Vienna Open, on his more preferred indoor hard court surface, a neck injury forced him to retire from his opening round match.
In 2021, he was beaten in the first ATP Cup by Matteo Berrettini in straight sets and then wasn’t played in the second one, which means he enters the Australian Open with question-marks around his form and confidence.
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Back to Back Second Round Exits for Ruusuvuori
Ruusuvuori come into the Australian Open on the back of two ATP competition appearances. In the first he featured in Antalya, beating Jiri Vesely in the first round before losing to Stefano Travaglia in the second.
He followed it up by featuring at the Murray River Open in Melbourne, beating Viktor Troicki in straight sets in the opener. And then again, in the second round, the Finnish player proved no match for Borna Coric, who defeated him 7-5, 6-4 to crash out of the tournament.
In the past, the 21-year-old Ruusuvuori has shown signs of improving with every passing week, with his best performance in an ATP tournament last season having come at the Nur-Sultan Open. As a qualifier there, Ruusuvuori made it all the way through to the semifinal, with wins over Jordan Thompson and Mikhail Kukushkin. Interestingly, this came after he had also stunned Dominic Thiem in a 2019 Davis Cup match.
Now the big question is if he can get himself his first big scalp of his career and that at a Grand Slam tournament.
Monfils v Ruusuvuori Prediction and Tip
Rather interestingly, Ruusuvuori starts out a favourite here against the struggling Monfils, at 4/6. Going with Monfils to win at least two sets in what could be a thriller here.
Tip: Monfils to win two sets: 4/6 (bet365)
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The 2021 Australian Open will be played from February 8 to 21. You can watch & bet on the these matches here. Get your latest premium tennis predictions here.
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