Stockholm Open 2023 final: Gael Monfils vs Pavel Kotov preview, head-to-head, prediction, odds, and pick

Fixture: (PR) Gael Monfils vs (Q) Pavel Kotov

Date: October 22, 2023

Tournament:Stockholm Open 2023

Round: Final

Venue: Stockholm, Sweden

Surface: Hard (indoor)

Prize money: €673,630

Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | Canada - TSN

Gael Monfils vs Pavel Kotov preview

Gael Monfils will face off against qualifier Pavel Kotov in the final of the 2023 Stockholm Open on Sunday.

Monfils kicked off his campaign here with wins over Marton Fucosvics, Filip Misolic and Adrian Mannarino to reach the semifinals. He then took on Laslo Djere for a spot in the title round.

Monfils was off to a fast start as he jumped to a 4-0 lead in the first set. Djere closed the gap by bagging the next three games. The Frenchman then held a set point on his opponent's serve at 5-3, but couldn't close it out.

Monfils was unable to serve out the set at 5-4 either as Djere broke back to level the score. However, the former struck back as he won the next couple of games to take the set.

Monfils built up a 4-0 lead in the second set as well, and didn't surrender his advantage this time around. He won the match 7-5, 6-2 and reached his first final of the season.

Kotov came through the qualifiers and then defeated Christopher Eubanks, Lorenzo Sonego and Tallon Griekspoor. He was up against Miomir Kecmanovic in the semifinals.

Kotov maintained an iron grip on the proceedings and remained in charge of it right from the first point. He secured a single break of serve in each set to win the match 6-3, 6-4 and advance to his maiden ATP final.

Gael Monfils vs Pavel Kotov head-to-head

This will be the first meeting between them, so the head-to-head stands at 0-0 for now.

Gael Monfils vs Pavel Kotov odds

(Odds are sourced from BetMGM)

Gael Monfils vs Pavel Kotov prediction

Monfils played quite a solid match despite a few hiccups against Djere. With the win, his streak of reaching a final evey year since 2005 remained intact. He won 83% of his first serve points and fired 16 winners in all in the previous round.

Kotov didn't show any signs of nerves as he dispatched Kecmanovic to reach his first ATP final. That sort of mental strength will be needed when he takes on a veteran like Monfils in the championship round.

Monfils shows no signs of slowing down even at the age of 37, keeping pace with and at times even outrunning his younger opponents. The Frenchman's footwork and court coverage remains one of his core strengths. His serve and shotmaking are quite good too.

Pavel's won plenty of matches this week to get to this stage. He's playing better than before and does some heavy damage with his backhand. Monfils does give away the match at times by playing a loose game here and there, but should be able to down his younger opponent to win the title.

Pick: Gael Monfils to win in straight sets.