By Ricky Dimon
Novak Djokovic and Milos Raonic will be battling for the top spot in Group B at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals when they collide on Tuesday night. Gael Monfils and Dominic Thiem, however, find themselves in much different situations. Both 0-1, they are likely fighting for survival.
Ricky previews the two matches and makes his predictions.
(2) Novak Djokovic vs. (4) Milos Raonic
Djokovic and Raonic will be squaring off for the eighth time in their careers, with Djokovic dominating the head-to-head series 7-0--including 3-0 on hard courts and 1-0 indoors. Their only previous indoor meeting came two seasons ago in Paris, where the Serb rolled 6-2, 6-3. They have met twice this year, with Djokovic prevailing 6-2, 6-0 in the Indian Wells Masters title match and 6-3, 6-4 on the red clay of Madrid.
Djokovic has struggled since winning French Open for the first time in his career. He was stunned by Sam Querrey in the Wimbledon third round before losing at the Rio Olympics (to Juan Martin Del Potro in round one), at the U.S. Open (to Stan Wawrinka in the final), in Shanghai (to Roberto Bautista Agut in the semifinals), and in Paris (to Marin Cilic in the quarterfinals). The world No. 2 also started slow this week in London, but he bounced back to win his opening match 6-7(10), 6-0, 6-2 over Dominic Thiem.
Like Djokovic, Raonic arrived at the O2 Arena with no momentum of any kind. The world No. 4 recovered from early losses in St. Petersburg, Shanghai, and Basel to reach the Paris semifinals, but he was forced to give Andy Murray a walkover due to a quadriceps injury. Raonic said afterward that he was "doubtful" for the year-end championship, but he has clearly made a miraculous recovery. The Canadian turned in an impressive display on Sunday to cruise past Gael Monfils 6-3, 6-4. Raonic crushed12 aces without double-faulting and did not face a single break point.
Another similar showing would be enough for Raonic to make this one competitive, but it is hard to see him overcoming an 0-7 mark against Djokovic--especially at a tournament that Djokovic has won four straight times.
Pick: Djokovic in 3
(6) Gael Monfils vs. (8) Dominic Thiem
Monfils and Thiem will be facing each other for just the second times. Their only previous encounter came last season on the red clay of Umag, where Thiem won a roller-coaster 1-6, 6-3, 6-1 affair. They were scheduled to meet in round three of this summer's Cincinnati Masters, but Monfils pulled out with an injury.
Physical problems have continued to be a problem for both players, with the Frenchman withdrawing from the recent indoor event in Paris because of a rib injury. He moved well in his London opener against Raonic on Sunday but still lost in straight sets. Monfils, the reigning Washington, D.C. champion and a U.S. Open semifinalist, is 44-16 for his 2016 campaign.
Thiem briefly played great in his opener against Djokovic before falling in three sets. The 23-year-old Austrian is a stellar 57-23 for the season, but he is a mere 9-11 in his last 20 matches dating back to Wimbledon.
Thiem and Monfils admitted after their opening setbacks that they are not 100 percent physically. Although this may be a battle of the walking wounded, both impressed at times on Sunday and neither was hobbled by any specific issue. Djokovic's defense ended up being way too much for Thiem's offense, and something similar could develop in this one.
Pick: Monfils in 3
Ricky contributes to 10sballs.com and also maintains his own tennis website, The Grandstand.