Tomas Berdych vs. Gael Monfils: final preview – Open Sud de France 2012
Stage is set for the final showdown in Montpellier, France, with the world number seven, Tomas Berdych from Czech Republic, taking on the third seed home favourite, Gael Monfils, in the title round of the Open Sud de France. The
final of the ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) World Tour 250 event will be played on the indoor hard courts of Arena Montpellier on Sunday, with two of the world’s finest tennis athletes battling it out for the glory.
The top seed Czech will step on the court as the hot favourite for winning the title match but all the crowd support will be on Monfils’ back. The world number 13 provided a stunning result in the semi-final round, beating the
world number 12, Gilles Simon, in a cracking three-setter to have a shot at the title. Monfils defended a match point against the second seed fellow compatriot in the semi-final and went on to turn the tables on him to claim an emphatic victory. He is considered
an underdog in the final against Berdych but no one can deny the potential this 25-year-old crafty Frenchman possesses.
On the other hand, the 2012 Australian Open quarter-finalist, Berdych, hasn’t dropped a single set en route to the final round. He registered three straight-sets victories, ousting Florent Serra, Nicolas Mahut and the seventh seed
German, Philipp Kohlschreiber, to force his way in the grand finale in Montpellier. The in-form Berdych will take off his title match with conviction and will be eyeing to get his hands on his seventh ATP championship trophy.
Monfils took off his 2012 ATP season as the world number 16 and produced an absolute shocker in the circuit-opening tournament in Doha; he defeated the world number two, Rafael Nadal, in straight sets to earn a title shot in the
final of the event. Unfortunately, he lost the final to the sixth-ranked fellow compatriot, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, in a dismal fashion but the Frenchman is up again for another title-winning opportunity on his home soil. Monfils is a very quick learner and must
have figured out a lot of things from his championship loss to Tsonga.
Berdych has already expressed his views about facing Monfils in the final and cited that the Frenchman will certainly not be easy bait for him. The top seed Czech have faced Monfils once before and was victorious. He outsmarted
the French in the round of 32 of the tournament in Dubai back in 2008 (settling the final scores at 6-3, 6-2) and will certainly desire to repeat the similar sort of performance in Sunday’s final.
"I think it's going to be a nice final," said Berdych after securing a berth in the final of the Open Sud de France on Saturday. "I feel there is work to be done and there is one more step to go. I'll try my best to finish the
week off great."
With a superior ranking and a prior victory on his back, Berdych can be rated as the hot favourite for the final against Monfils. However, the third seed French is riding a sublime form and with the entire home crowd supporting
on his back, he can pull out a stunner on Sunday night. A three setter, with Berdych winning in the end is anticipated.
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