ATP Cincinnati Masters: How to bet Gael Monfils vs. Cam Norrie

One of the great entertainers in tennis history is taking his final bows.

Gael Monfils, 36, has indicated that he is closing in on retirement and most folks inside the sport believe the effervescent Frenchman has his eye on next year’s French Open as his swan song.

That means that this is La Monf’s final US Open series, but true to form Monfils has provided some memorable moments during his stops in Atlanta, Washington and Toronto.

Will Monfils give the crowd at the Cincinnati Masters a parting gift? Or will Cam Norrie throw some cold water the farewell tour?

Nobody approaches tennis like Gael Monfils. The native of Paris is a brilliant athlete and in his heyday was one of the premier defenders the sport has ever seen. Monfils used his length, speed and athleticism to keep himself in rallies before finding the right moment to attack.

Now at the twilight of his career, La Monf’s consistency and physicality have dwindled, but he’s shown over the past month that he’s got plenty left in the tank. Monfils was bounced by Thanasi Kokkinakis in Round 1 of ATP Atlanta, but since then he’s won five of seven and has defeated the likes of Stefanos Tsitsipas, Alexander Bublik and Chris Eubanks.

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While Monfils has had some moderate success during the hard-court swing, the opposite is true of Cam Norrie. After a disappointing exit in Round 2 at Wimbledon, Norrie has gone 0-2 on hard courts this summer. The Brit lost to Aleksandar Kovacevic in his opening match in Los Cabos and then fell to Alex de Minaur in Canada.

Norrie has been a pretty strong player on hard courts in his career, but it does seem like the World No. 15 is battling some form issues right now. Norrie has lost 12 of his last 23 matches overall and has really struggled when he’s had to step up in class. Only one of his last 11 wins has come against a player ranked inside the top-40.

With the crowd behind him and taking on an opponent lacking in confidence, this match is there for the taking for Monfils. Tennis Abstract makes this contest close to a coin flip, but I give the edge to Monfils given his form and “home-court advantage.”

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