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Chile is heading into a team tournament at the highest level with some serious confidence for the first time in long, if not ever. And that is all because of star campaigner Cristian Garin's remarkable rise on the men's tour.
Chile will step out on the court tomorrow for Group A play of the 2020 ATP Cup in Brisbane, taking on heavyweights France. And the biggest draw in the rubber is the Cristian Garin vs Gael Monfils matchup.
While the two have never faced each other before, it still makes for an intriguing match. Both men had a stellar 2019 season and will be looking to start the new year in the same vein, but only one of them can come out of the encounter unscathed.
Monfils might feel like a safe bet to win the match based on his experience and out-and-out flamboyant game, but Garin is no pushover. The Chilean No. 1 showcased incredible fighting skills in the face of adversity throughout 2019, winning two titles in the year.
While Monfils can pull out the most outrageous of shots at any point in a rally, Garin is an extremely consistent baseline player. He can wear you out very easily using his topspin-heavy groundstrokes that are among the best on the tour.
Both Monfils and Garin are great movers on the court and extremely fit, so the length of the match would not necessarily give either of them an undue advantage. The Frenchman, however, is a proven team player and is known to raise his level to extraordinary heights in pressure situations; both of those qualities might come in handy if things were to get close in the end.
The stakes are much higher for Garin in this one as his team would be relying on him to deliver at least one match win in a very tough tie, and the young Chilean has not faced that sort of pressure a lot. How well he fares in the situation will not only have a bearing on his team's final standings, but on his 2020 season as a whole too.
Prediction: Garin to win in two sets.
