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Horse Racing Gael Monfils vs Zhizhen Zhang Prediction, Stats, Form, H2H, February 21st
Wednesday’s preview takes us to the ATP 250 Qatar ExxonMobil Open in Doha. We’ve got a lot of talent on the court, as we take a look at Gael Monfils vs Zhizhen Zhang. These two are both athletic and can hit a huge ball. Should be a fun one!
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 Monfils vs Zhang prediction is for Zhang to win.
In this article:
- Gael Monfils vs Zhizhen Zhang Prediction
- Gael Monfils Recent Form
- Zhizhen Zhang Recent Form
- Gael Monfils vs Zhizhen Zhang H2H Stat of the Match
- Safer Gambling
Gael Monfils vs Zhizhen Zhang (Qatar ExxonMobil Open) Prediction: Streaky Zhang to Keep Monfils Close
- Prediction: Zhang to win
- Best Odds: 2.30
- Bookmaker: bet365
- Stakes: 3/10
Odds as at 3:45 am UK Time on February 21st, 2024. Odds may now differ.
Further, Zhang is a much better opponent, despite the markets saying otherwise, by my estimation than Botic van de Zandschulp, and in this particular matchup, the fact that Monfils played on Tuesday, while Zhang had the day off is another relevant factor playing in the Chinese player’s favour.
Read on for more expert insights.
Gael Monfils Recent Form
The 37-year-old hasn’t exactly been unstoppable this year. His wins have come against Yannick Hanfmann on a hard court, Denis Shapovalov who still looks nowhere near 100% and the aforementioned van de Zandschulp, who simply commits too many errors on the backhand wing that he can’t make up for with clean winners.
The rest of his matches have been losses. Sure, he took a set from Jannik Sinner last week and had a set lead on Flavio Cobolli, but for me, Monfils has really moved down into the mediocre tier of player after years of his talent keeping him among the best.
He can still serve well, cover the court like very few others ever have and unleash some big groundstrokes when he has the time, but he also has his fair share of weaknesses as well.
I mentioned his lack of stamina and physical issues earlier, but he’s also guilty of being a tad casual at times and making some really poor shot-selection choices. Then there are rallies that he gets far too passive, happy to get himself involved in pushing-type rallies, when he should be looking to dictate.
This match should be close, but I don’t think the Frenchman is anywhere near a level that justifies him being a clear favourite.
Zhizhen Zhang Recent Form
Zhang has probably had one of the tougher starts to the year to parse. That tracks too, since he plays a volatile, unpredictable style.
He’s got some impressive straight sets wins against Felix Auger Aliassime and Lorenzo Musetti, a strong three-set victory against Jiri Lehecka and was a tiebreak away from forcing a third set against Ugo Humbert.
Yet he also lost outright to a player I’ve never heard of in Davis Cup.
He’s got a strong serve, aggressive game and loves to go big on his groundstrokes from the baseline. He can hit through just about any surface, and even though you wouldn’t think his game would work on clay, the slower surface gives him more time to set up his shots and his power actually cuts through those courts as well.
The flip side is that he has very little point construction or tactical aspect to his game, and that can be concerning if he finds himself rushed and committing errors. He’s not one to make adjustments on the fly.
All in all, he’s exactly the type of player you love to back as the underdog, as the ceiling on his talent is so high and hate to back as a favourite, because he can also hit his way right out of a tournament on an erratic day.
Gael Monfils vs Zhizhen Zhang H2H – Stat of the Match
No meetings between these two in the past, so it’s not like the market is backing Monfils here thanks to a few prior wins.
If we take a look at the hold plus break percentage of each player so far this year, it’s actually Zhang who looks the more appealing side. Now, since that is still a fairly small sample, the 52-week average should also be considered. In that scenario, Monfils has the slight edge.
Regardless, it’s not a big enough advantage to justify the prices on offer. I’ll happily back the underdog heading into Wednesday’s action.
SAFER GAMBLING
At bettingexpert, we always take a safe approach to gambling. We’ll never bet more than we can afford or chase losses. For more advice, head to our Safer Gambling hub.
