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Boxing Ugo Humbert vs Gael Monfils Prediction, Stats, Form, H2H, February 22nd
We’ll keep on previewing matches from the Qatar ExxonMobil Open in Doha, the ATP 250 tournament.
This time, we’ll look at the Ugo Humbert vs Gael Monfils match, as the all-French battle pits two players that have reached this stage in many different manners in the quarterfinals on Thursday.
For more daily tennis tips, visit the bettingexpert community, but if you want more expert tips from Jon Reid, visit our Expert Insights section.
Our Humbert vs Monfils prediction is for Humbert to cover -2.5 games.
In this article:
- Ugo Humbert vs Gael Monfils Prediction
- Ugo Humbert Recent Form
- Gael Monfils Recent Form
- Ugo Humbert vs Gael Monfils H2H Stat of the Match
- Safer Gambling
Ugo Humbert vs Gael Monfils Prediction: Younger Frenchman to End Monfils’ Lucky Run
- Prediction: Humbert -2.5 Games
- Best Odds: 1.85
- Bookmaker: Unibet
- Stakes: 7/10
Odds as at 3:15 am UK Time on February 22nd, 2024. Odds may now differ.
He has also looked fatigued at various points of both matches and his game has lacked in certain ways.
Humbert on the other hand, had a bye in the first round, cruised in the second and is by far the better player and fresher of the two at this stage.
Read on for more expert insights.
Ugo Humbert Recent Form
While I wasn’t keen on his play in potentially windy conditions and on slower courts heading into the week, he did a great job constantly pressuring Pavel Kotov’s serve last round and was dominant behind that cannon of a lefty first serve he possesses.
Not only has he spent much less time on court and looked better in that time, but he’s got the bigger game and is the much, much better player at this stage of his career relative to his ageing countryman.
With one of the best serves in this tournament and knowing how poor Monfils has been on return overall in his last three sets of play (some of that likely comes down to energy conservation, which in itself is an indicator he may be running out of gas), there’s a huge matchup edge to be had here.
Further, if Monfils is going to look to play boom or bust tennis on return again, the lower net clearance and low margin game of Humbert becomes much less vulnerable as the points shorten in length.
This is a great chance for Humbert to make yet another deep run at the 250 level this week. This time, however, it just happens to be at one of the best-paying 250-level tournaments on tour.
Gael Monfils Recent Form
What’s there to say about one of the best entertainers the sport has ever seen? There’s never been a doubt that he’s incredibly talented. His movement, serve, rally tolerance when he’s defending and pace generation when on the front foot are all quality.
He’s always been a bit too injury-prone, however, and at 37 years old, the stamina has become a noticeable weakness as well.
His game has been mediocre at best the last few days, and that’s been against much lighter competition than his in-form compatriot.
Botic van de Zandschulp simply can’t hit with the ferocious power that Humbert can, and Zhang doesn’t have the consistency or tactical abilities of the 25-year-old Frenchman.
Monfils barely made it through those two matches and in the second round, his second serve was far too attackable.
If he does play, I’m not sure how he keeps Humbert out of his service games, and I’m certainly not sure how a fatigued Monfils manages to pressure one of the better lefty serves on tour.
Ugo Humbert vs Gael Monfils H2H – Stat of the Match
There’s very little to go on in this series, with Humbert winning both matches, but there are caveats involved.
First, the first time these guys played was five years ago at Wimbledon and Humbert needed five sets to get that done. Monfils also retired hurt in the deciding set.
The other match came just under a year ago in Miami, where the two played just six games before Monfils retired again (once more, we can see that the physical issues aren’t just a recent thing for the veteran).
Statistically, while Humbert leads Monfils in just about every important category this season, I think the second-serve win percentage really stands out. Not only has Humbert backed it up at a rate about 7% better than his countryman, but in their most recent five matches, Humbert has only won fewer than half of his second serve points once. Monfils still needs to reach that 50% threshold three times.
We know that a lagging serve can be indicative of tiring legs, and that’s yet another sign that now is the time to keep opposing Monfils.
SAFER GAMBLING
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