GAEL MONFILS VS. STEVE JOHNSON | US OPEN 2021 | LOUIS ARMSTRONG STADIUM
Gael Monfils takes his shotmaking talent into the second round of the US Open, while Taylor Fritz and Aslan Karatsev also play. Anish Joshi and Damian Kust offer their predictions for every second round match on Thursday.
Gael Monfils vs Steve Johnson
Anish: Monfils showed excellent defense and athleticism as he defeated Federico Coria convincingly in straight sets. Though he didn’t impress on the serve wing, he was highly proficient in winning points at the net, and his use of dropshots was very clever. Steve Johnson defeated Maximilian Marterer in his first round encounter. Johnson’s handling of nerves in the tiebreaks has to be his biggest takeaway from the match. But, Monfils is riding high after a decent warm-up. As I have already said, trust Monfils to do well when time calls. Monfils in 4
Damian: Monfils is not quite in his pre-pandemic shape yet, but has made a ton of progress towards that in the last month or so. Johnson hasn’t been quite as strong as in the past, so the Frenchman should be able to advance. Monfils in 4