2016 has seen a new and improved attitude both mentally and physically from Gael Monfils. The French number three began the year at the Australian Open taking advantage of a draw that had fallen apart and being the highest seed left in his section, he reached the quarterfinals for the first time but his progress was halted by Milos Raonic.
Monfils' notable results
Monfils' impressive form continued at the first three Masters 1,000 events of the year, and at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, the flamboyant Frenchman reached the quarterfinals losing to Raonic again.
At the Miami Open, Monfils backed up his performance at the BNP Paribas Open and he reached the quarterfinals again in Miami but it was a heartbreaking loss for him as he squandered five match points against former US Open finalist Kei Nishikori.
The Frenchman began his clay court campaign in the principality of the Monte Carlo Rolex Masters and he went on to reach his third Masters 1,000 final and he gave nine-time French Open champion Rafael Nadal a good run for his money but ultimately fell away in the final set to lose the match.
Zverev's notable results
Alexander Zverev one of the Next Gen stars of the ATP World Tour has made some huge strides in 2016, as the young German has reached a career high ranking of 27 and with his run to the semifinals of the Citi Open he will rise to 25 but if results go his way and wins the title, he could be ranked inside the top 20 for the first time in his career.
The German has been touted by Rafael Nadal as a future world number one as he had the former world number one on the ropes in their fourth round encounter in Indian Wells, and he had a match point on his own serve but failed to convert it and lost the match in three sets.
The world number 27 recorded a win over 17-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer at the Gerry Weber Open in Halle.
Zverev reached the third round of the French Open and Wimbledon losing to Dominic Thiem and Tomas Berdych respectively, and he has reached two finals this year losing to Thiem and his compatriot Florian Mayer in his first ATP 500 final in Halle.
How they got here
Monfils as the second seed received a bye in the first round of the Citi Open but he recorded two confidence-boosting wins in the second round over Yen Hsun-Lu and 16th seed Borna Coric in the third round both were straightforward straight sets wins.
In the quarterfinals, Monfils was up against eighth seed Sam Querrey, who recorded a four set victory over world number one Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon. The Frenchman won the first set 6-4 but dropped the second set 3-6 and won the final set 6-1 to reach the semifinals.
Zverev like Monfils gained a bye in the first round and the seventh seed had a blockbuster second round encounter with fellow Next Gen star Taylor Fritz, in which was the first meeting between the pair and this matchup could be the future of Men's tennis within the next ten years and Zverev was victorious 6-4, 6-2.
In the third round, Zverev defeated Malek Jaziri in three sets and in the quarterfinals he defeated Monfils' compatriot and fourth seed Benoit Paire in straight sets to reach the semifinals.
Their history
This encounter between Monfils and Zverev will be their third meeting as Monfils has won their two previous meetings in straight sets.
They first faced off in Marseille last year and at the ATP 500 indoor event in Rotterdam in February, which Monfils was victorious again and went on to reach the final.
Who wins?
Monfils is rediscovering the form that he had at the start of the season as he struggled for a couple of months with injury that ruled him out of the French Open, which was disappointing for Monfils as he loves to play in front of his home crowd.
He doesn't love the grass so it wasn't a surprise that he lost to his compatriot Jeremy Chardy in the first round of Wimbledon.
Zverev can get erratic at times but he moves well for his height and he has a good serve and a powerful forehand which could push Monfils out of position on the court.
Monfils has been serving big this week and he can mix up his play with throwing in drop shots which could force Zverev to run off the baseline and be put into uncomfortable positions.
The German could take advantage if Monfils has a dip in the match which he did against Querrey last night when he dropped the middle set but a focused Monfils should win this match and he is currently 11th in the Race to London to qualify for the ATP World Tour Finals.
The US Open is on the horizon for both players and Monfils is certainly a threat in New York again if he is fit and the Frenchman has been a two-time quarterfinalist most recently in 2014 when he squandered match points against Roger Federer.
This match is the first match scheduled for the night session at 7 PM local time and the winner of this match will play fifth seed Steve Johnson or 13th seed Ivo Karlovic in the final.
Prediction: Monfils in straight sets.