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Can Bautista get revenge for last week's Rotterdam?

Monfils suddenly accepted the wildcard for this tournament for which he finally seems ready. He has three two-set wins behind him and he's the favorite for the third consecutive headto-head win against the feisty Spaniard

Monfils started out the new season somewhat later. At Australian Open he complained of personal problems at the start of the tournament, and he was defeated in the second round (Janowicz).Then he caught influenza and he wasn't ready for Montpellier where he was defending the title. Still, he somehow reached the semi-finals against Gasquet, and two days later he played in Rotterdam. There he tied two wins together after which he said he will take a break.

He changed his mind at the last minute and accepted the wildcard for this tournament. He passed the first two rounds with ease, and the quarter-finals weren't a struggle either. He met with Bolelli. The Italian who caught his first Top 10 win in his career (after 34 defeats) didn't manage to beat Monfils.

Monfils based on his serve and he was far more successful in that part (90% after the first throw) and calmly awaited the chances that appeared. With an early break he dealt with the first set, and a similar thing happened in the second. All in all, it was a very mature meeting with a bit of a routine win.

- I tried to serve well. He was pretty tired after yesterday's win and I used that well. I was patient and used my chances - commented the French who offered a single break-point which he saved.

He found himself in the first semi-finals of this tournament where he's up against Bautista. He went head-to-head with the Spaniard last week in Rotterdam in a very equal meeting where he managed to win.

- Since I played last week against him, I have a couple of ideas, but I'm aware it's going to be tough. Last year he ended among the Top 15 and he's a great player, especially from the baseline - the French announced the meeting.

Bautista was completely free in the first round, and then he took two two-set wins. They weren't as convincing, but he confirmed his self-esteem is coming back. He started out the year pretty weakly, complaining of some physical problems, but currently he has none.

He beat the uncomfortable Pospisil and then Thiem. At first it was a match of equals. After the first tiebreak in the first set he managed to use one break chance and show that he's more mentally stable. We should also mention that he won 61% of points on the first throw, compared to 48% of the Austrian.

He thus earned his ninth ATP semi-finals where he will be looking for his fifth win, and first one over Monfils. He doesn't have good experiences against him so far, but it were matches where details decided the winner. He probably learned something in Rotterdam, but we should also mention that Monfils is playing even better here and his health issues are obviously a thing of the past.

It's obvious that when he's in the mood, Monfils is dangerous for any tennis player. He's quality is getting better from one match to the other, and he showed that against Bolelli. He served really well, he was dangerous on the return. Despite that, Bolelli wasn't at the same level as he was against Raonic. Mofils still showed a better game and thus won. Bautista is playing well as usual, without many oscillations; he beat Pospisil and Thiem at this tournament, and that was expected. In Rotterdam Monfils beat Bautista with three games of difference, and I'm sure he'll win again today with minimum that much difference because he's in better shape than he was then and his game is more serious. Monfils is currently the superior player who has a lot more possibilities than his opponent, and that's why I expect a convincing win. In case it heads into three sets, I think the handicap involved will also be covered.