Gael Monfils plays Viktor Troicki in round three of the Montreal Masters today.
Monfils made a solid start to the tournament seeing off American journeyman Alex Bogomolov 6-2, 7-6 and now the serious stuff starts. The Frenchman lived up to his top ten billing last week at the Legg Mason Classic, battling his way to the final but in order to stay in the top ten he needs far more consistent performances in the Masters 1000 events.
Troicki is desperate to become the second Serbian to crack the top ten but first of all he needs to start closing out his chances against the top guys. He's had Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray on the rack in the slams over the past year but hasn't been able to finish the deal.
However yesterday he gained revenge for last week's defeat to John Isner, edging out the American 6-4, 3-6, 6-2 and if he can get past Monfils he may have another shot at his countryman Djokovic in the quarters.
Having said that, Monfils has looked very sharp recently and he's the definite favourite for this one.
