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Gael Monfils, Albert Ramos-Viñolas become frontrunners at Ecuador Open

By Harry Floyd

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - JANUARY 18: Sweat flies in the air a Gael Monfils of France serves in his second round match against Novak Djokovic of Serbia on day four of the 2018 Australian Open at Melbourne Park on January 18, 2018 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Scott Barbour/Getty Images)
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - JANUARY 18: Sweat flies in the air a Gael Monfils of France serves in his second round match against Novak Djokovic of Serbia on day four of the 2018 Australian Open at Melbourne Park on January 18, 2018 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Scott Barbour/Getty Images) /
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Gael Monfils is the third seed this week at the Ecuador Open. The French tennis star is into the quarterfinals in Quito, Ecuador.

Gael Monfils and Albert Ramos-Vinolas are the new frontrunners this week at the 2018 Ecuador Open in Quito, Ecuador. The French tennis star is the tournament’s third seed while Ramos-Vinolas is the second seed. Top seed and favorite Pablo Carreno Busta saw a straight set loss to Andrej Martin.

Also falling in Quito is the ATP event’s sole champion thus far, Victor Estrella Burgos. The three-time champion has earned every single one of his singles titles at the tournament in Quito. This year, however, things will unfold differently.

Monfils moves on and faces Thiago Monteiro of Brazil in his quarterfinals meeting. Ramos-Vinolas takes on Gerald Melzer of Austria. Melzer is fresh off of his win over the defending champion. Look for Monfils and Ramos-Vinolas to be the favorites moving forward.

Gael Monfils already has one title on the year.

Opening the 2018 ATP World Tour in fine form, Monfils took the title at the Qatar Open. It was his seventh career ATP singles title and got him moving in the right direction this year. While he is a fan favorite, Monfils went without a title victory on tour last year. His previous win came in 2016 at the Washington Citi Open.

The French tennis veteran fought hard during his three-set opening round win. He will need to find his rhythm early against the Brazilian Monteiro. Currently, Monfils is the world No. 43 in men’s singles tennis. Monteiro comes in as the world No. 118. The Brazilian is a young up and comer in the sport and hopes to crack into the ATP Top 100 sometime this year. Continuing on at the Ecuador Open could help propel him toward that goal.

Next: Top 10 All-Time: Men's Tennis

Stay tuned to see if Gael Monfils can advance at the 2018 Ecuador Open. A title run would give him one in each of the first two months of the 2018 ATP World Tour. He will need to dig deep and fight past his younger opponent next. Check back for updates on all of the action in men’s singles tennis this week in Quito.

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