The ‘Magic Man’ is all set to swish his wand against the Portuguese tennis sensation, Henrique Rocha, at the first round of the Millennium Estoril Open. Gael Monfils has gone through some ups and downs this year, but he never failed to entertain the crowd with his extraordinary shot-taking skills on the court. Can Monfils make a productive run this year at the Estoril Open?

Well, the 37YO Frenchman is currently busy showing the world why age is just a number. And, talking about his next opponent, well, he’s 18 years younger than him. Rocha would look forward to giving a tough fight against the former world no.6. Let’s have a look at how their season has gone so far this year.

Gael Monfils vs Henrique Rocha: Preview

Monfils started his season with a defeat at the first match in the ASB Classic. But he managed to make it to the second round at the 2024 AO. His next notable performances came in Rotterdam and Qatar where he reached the R16 and the SF respectively. In the Dubai Tennis Championships, Gael Monfils yet again faced an early exit but he looked absolutely in ‘GOD-MODE’ at the Indian Wells. 

At the Indian Wells this year he managed to make it to the R16 but in Miami, Monfils got defeated by Carlos Alcaraz in the third round of the tournament. How far can he go at his next tournament in Estoril?

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The 19YO Portuguese tennis sensation, Henrique Rocha may well be the right man to answer this question. If he somehow manages to beat the Frenchman, this would surely be one of the memorable moments of his career. Rocha didn’t have a good start to his season in 2024. But he reached the R16 at the ITF Portugal F1. After that, he reached the QF at the Challenger Tenerife II, ES and then a few weeks later he made it to the SF at the ITF Portugal F4.

However, his most memorable performances came at the Murcia Open. Rocha won his maiden Challenger title in Murcia and became the fifth player born in 2004 to capture a Challenger title. Can the 19YO lad from Porto give a tough fight against an experienced campaigner like Monfils?

Monfils vs Rocha: Head-to-Head

Well, this will in fact be their first meeting on the tour. Henrique Rocha recently made his Top 200 debut in the PIF ATP Rankings. He is currently placed at the 197th spot in the men’s singles ranking. Gael Monfils on the other hand, is ranked number 45 in the world. So, just like the age, even here there is a huge gap between the two.

On clay surfaces, Gael Monfils has a 68.1% winning percentage in service games and a 25% win percentage in return games. While the Portuguese has won 55.6% of his service games and 11.1% of his return games on the clay courts over the past year. Although it looks like a one-sided battle looking at all these stats, the 19YO will come up with a lot more determination to prove himself against a proven one on the bigger stage of the game.

Prediction: Monfils to win in two sets

Gael Monfils has a win-loss record of 10-8 this season, but he hasn’t played on the clay court this year. While Henrique Rocha has a record of 12-7 with 5-1 on the clay courts. If we look at their overall records, the Frenchman has a 646-352 win-loss record in his career with 190-110 on clay courts. On the other hand, the 19YO Portuguese tennis player has a 98-64 win-loss record in his career so far. His records on the clay court are currently 33-29.

Gael Monfils reached the QF of the Estoril Open in 2019, while Henrique Rocha reached the first round of the tournament in 2023. So, experience everything in this matchup at the Estadio Millennium.

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