The 2024 ATP Monte Carlo Masters continues with plenty of first-round matches on Monday’s schedule. As ever, we here at LWOT will be offering our predictions for every match on the schedule, including Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Laslo Djere. But who will book their place in the second round in Monaco?
ATP Monte Carlo Day 2 Predictions
Dan Evans vs Sebastian Ofner
Head-to-head: first meeting
Both players could really use a win like this with not much going for them in the first months of the year. Sebastian Ofner was a beast on the Challenger Tour this time last year, but it seems like his purple patch is now over. Dan Evans still produces the occasional peak (especially Washington), but has been struggling to grab wins consistently of late. This is the venue of one of his best runs ever (semifinal defeating Novak Djokovic on the way) and his scrappy slice grinding will test if Ofner is ready to build up points with enough patience.
Prediction: Evans in 3
Embed from Getty Images
Alexei Popyrin vs Corentin Moutet
Head-to-head: Moutet 3-0 Popyrin
That last season of playing with a one-handed backhand due to his wrist issue was a pretty horrible ordeal for Corentin Moutet, but maybe over time it will actually benefit him? He could definitely use some extra tenacity and the slice seems sharper than ever before. The head-to-head against Alexei Popyrin is a little surprising and probably shouldn’t be taken at face value. But on a clay court Moutet should have his chances to grind down the Australian and looked quite solid in the qualifying.
Prediction: Moutet in 3
Federico Coria vs Ugo Humbert
Head-to-head: first meeting
Ugo Humbert hasn’t won a match in the main draw of this event yet, but it feels like last year he made a significant jump when it comes to his clay-court abilities. Particularly on the way to the Challenger 175 titles in Cagliari and Bordeaux, he was displaying rally tolerance we hadn’t seen from him before. Since then he’s been only rising, but of course on different surfaces. Federico Coria’s game is a much more typical fit for clay, but given Humbert’s form this year he might be a small favorite here.
Prediction: Humbert in 3
Embed from Getty Images
Arthur Fils vs Adrian Mannarino
Head-to-head: Mannarino 1-0 Fils
Adrian Mannarino’s clay record on the main tour stands at just 16-56, which stands in huge contrast to his mastery of virtually any other conditions. The Frenchman’s flat strokes don’t penetrate slow courts that well and this is an opportunity that his young countryman Arthur Fils should be capitalizing on. The 19-year-old hasn’t been doing that hot in recent months himself though, which makes this a real must-win for him. All the arguments point to him, but he’ll need to be cautious against the cunning veteran.
Prediction: Fils in 2
Main photo credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
