Frances Tiafoe had some draw luck at the 2023 ATP Vienna event. First, he picked up Daniel Evans in the first round, a player who retired midmatch. Next, Tiafoe will face Gael Monfils in a round-of-sixteen match at the 2023 Erst Bank Open. Monfils is 37 years old, he has played a lot of recent matches, and Tiafoe should be able to handle him with some ease. My Tiafoe vs Monfils prediction is that the American will win this match in straight sets.
Order of Play: Right-click/Open in the New Tab to check match times: subject to change
Frances Tiafoe vs Gael Monfils Head-to-Head Series
These two players have split their previous two matches. The most recent one took place in Canada in 2021 at the Masters Series event. Monfils beat Tiafoe in straight sets that day, over two years ago now.
Tiafoe hasn’t been in a great place in recent events. He fell in the US Open quarterfinals to Ben Shelton and, just perhaps, has carried some baggage from the result. But Tiafoe has a very favorable match-up in the Vienna draw and should be looking to gather momentum for a home stretch. He is one of the players still in the race to the final event of the season but Tiafoe needs a good result in Vienna to help.
Monfils won Stockholm last week. However, the draw to the title was pretty light with just Adrian Mannarino as the biggest name that Monfils had to take out. Since October 18th, Monfils has played six matches on tour. When he faces Tiafoe on Thursday, it will be the 7th match in the short time frame.
Tiafoe is the much better-rested player for this match. This upcoming match will be just his fourth for all of October. Also, the last match he played lasted just five games before Evans retired. Effectively, the much younger Tiafoe should be at 100% against what should be a tired veteran in Monfils.
The Draw: Right-click/Open in the New Tab for the draw for the 2023 Erst Bank Open
Tiafoe vs Monfils Prediction: Tiafoe wins
Monfils is 37-years-old and it is hard to picture him going deep in back-to-back tournaments. Tiafoe is a small underdog in this upcoming match at +100 (bet365). But not only do I think moneyliners should be taking that but I think they should take a straight sets victory for the American at +250. For prop bets, take Tiafoe to win the first set at either 6-0, 6-1, or 6-2 (50, 25, and 12 to 1 respectively).
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