Gael Monfils – Gilles Muller
The artist known as Gael Monfils will start his campaign against the fast serving Gilles Muller in what will be an intriguing encounter. Both players have recently gained high profile wins. Monfils downed Milos Raonic at the Canadian Open and Muller defeated Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in Rio.
Historically, both men have endured triumphed and disappointment against each other. In 2015 Muller edged out the Frenchman in a final set tiebreaker in Canada before Monfils got his own back with a straight set win at this year’s Monte Carlo Masters.
There is a lingering back problem troubling Monfils, which forced him to withdraw from the Winston-Salem Open. Fortunately the issue appears to not be serious and the Frenchman has been freely moving around in his training sessions.
Gael Monfils got a little bit of air during a practice session on Ashe today. pic.twitter.com/xWZFYJpKED
— Steve Tignor (@SteveTignor) 25 August 2016
It is expected that Monfils will battle hard to defeat Muller in what is expected to be a tough match. He will be hoping to avoid a similar fate to last year’s tournament, where he had to retire during his first round match because of injury.
