The Pick, presented by DraftKings Sportsbook: Alejandro Davidovich Fokina vs. Grigor Dimitrov, Monte Carlo

World No. 46 Alejandro Davidovich Fokina will take on world No. 29 Grigor Dimitrov in the semifinals of the 2022 Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters. This has been an event in which both players have surpassed expectations, but at this point, they each have to be feeling like they have a legitimate chance to win the tournament. Both players have earned some impressive victories in Monaco already, so this should be a fantastic match given their respective levels.

Davidovich Fokina comes into this match on the heels of a 2-6, 6-4, 6-3 win over world No. 13 Taylor Fritz. The Spaniard has already earned victories over world No. 1 Novak Djokovic and an in-form world No. 47 David Goffin at this event. That win over Djokovic has to have the 22-year-old feeling extremely confident right now—but so does his follow-up performances.

Dimitrov, who has gone through world No. 7 Casper Ruud and world No. 14 Hubert Hurkacz, is also going to be feeling good about his game. However, despite having had more success over the course of his career, Dimitrov is arguably the harder player to trust. You just never know when his level is going to drop off.

This is the second meeting between these two players, as they clashed in Rome last year. The youngster ended up winning that match-up, 6-4, 7-6 (2), and that shouldn’t be all that surprising. Davidovich Fokina is a player that loves to play on clay, the surface he grew up on. That’s important when you’re looking at a match like this, as you just can’t overstate the type of advantage some clay-court enthusiasts have on the dirt.

Davidovich Fokina will need to find a way to avoid making too many unforced errors in this match, or the veteran Dimitrov could take advantage. The 22-year-old’s aggressiveness has served him well in this tournament thus far, but he can’t get too carried away trying to make big shots. Both of these players are capable of being plagued by their own errors, and the Spaniard needs to let Dimitrov be the one to make more.

Overall, it’s hard to lay off of Davidovich Fokina in this one.

The Pick: Davidovich Fokina To Win (-120)