Come on Tommy ! !
TMS Cincinatti: Haas vs Monfils
Monfils is racking up plenty of attention on the tour right now. His efforts on the clay have earned him a whole new support group. He'll be hoping it can drive him to success against Tommy Haas when they meet in round 2 tomorrow
Haas and Monfils had fairly contrasting first round matches. Haas was made to sweat it out for over 2 hours against the enigmatic Mikhail Youzhny while Monfils was done and dusted in not even an hour, ending the night session rather abruptly with a 53 minute demolition of Donald Young
Confidence-boosting as that will have been, Haas will be a much tougher proposition for the Frenchman. With just a 7-6, 7-6 loss to Andreev last week since ATP Nottingham 6 weeks ago, Monfils could have done with a little tougher workout last night
He had a good track record against Haas, winning their only previous match on the clay of Rome 2 years ago 6-2, 3-6, 6-4
It'll be a different type of match to Haas-Youzhny where both men went toe to toe from the back looking to seize the initiative. Monfils like to play a long way back, using his athleticism to track everything down and his brute strength to crack impossible winners on the run. Its a ploy which has got him in trouble on the faster courts especially against opponents with the variety of Haas. I'll expect the German to mix things up plenty with the dropshot and his skill at the net
