An incredible first round upset would not be as “incredible”. The 2012 Rakuten Open has an interesting line up with a very tough first match for Murray. Gael Monfils, the most dreaded “floater”, will face the seed no.1 in his opener. Andy has already stated that he feels tired after his summer feat (Olympic Games + US Open).
“I ​​will have a very tough first round match. I have played against him five times and I lost a couple of games. He’s a great athlete that will not be easy for my comeback.”
“I think at this point of the season it’s normal to feel a bit tired mentally and physically. I need to find the key to better manage the last two months of the year. Well I’d like to play the Masters of London. I did last year because of physical problems. I am very sorry for the way I finished the year. I want to be 100% for that tournament and I will try to finish the year at my best.”
Gael Monfils is recovering from a knee injury that has sidelined him for severeal months. The Frenchman is now seeking his best tennis and beating Murray in Tokyo would be an enormous confidence boost.
Head to head is 3-2 for Murray. Gael won their last match 6-2 2-6 6-3 in the quarters of Paris 2010. Monfils has even managed to bagel Murray in Toronto in the same year to lose 6-2 0-6 6-3 (here some highlights).
Some more about the 2012 Rakuten Open
The tournament is a 500 ATP where the seeds are Murray, Berdych, Tipsarevic, Monaco, Almagro, Raonic, Wawrinka and home favorite Nishikori.
There are very interesting first round matches. Besides Murray Monfils, we have
Tipsarevic-Simon
They played few days ago in the semis in Bangok where Simon won in straight sets.
Monaco – Dimitrov
Raonic – Stepanek
Here you can see the complete draws
