Round of 16 matches are set for a close with four matches on the slate for Day 4 at the ATP Belgrade Open 2021. As ever, we at LWOT preview and predict all four of Wednesday’s Round of 16 matches for you.
ATP Belgrade Day 4 Predictions
Federico Delbonis vs Thiago Monteiro
Head to head – First Meeting
Thiago Monteiro won one main draw match in over two months, which is indicative of his struggles on clay this year. The 26 year old Brazilian is vastly talented and possesses great determination but his confidence is lacking this clay court season. His opponent, Federico Delbonis, has been a whole different story altogether though.
Delbonis has notched up decent results at the clay court events he’s entered and has played well within himself. His heavy top spin forehand works well on clay and he has defended extremely well off of his backhand. Expect Delbonis to continue to good form to progress through to the quarterfinals.
Prediction: Delbonis in 2
Jeremy Chardy vs Dusan Lajovic
Head to head – Chardy 3-2 Lajovic
Dusan Lajovic snapped his winless clay court season streak when he defeated Ricardas Berankis in the first round. The Serb is a much better player than that but with a win loss record of 6-13 this year, Lajovic is far away from his best tennis.
Jeremy Chardy has only fared slightly so far but can take respite in the fact that all three of his victories over Lajovic have come on outdoor clay courts. Expect a match laced with momentum shifts with the Frenchman just edging it.
Prediction: Chardy in 3
Nikoloz Basilashvili vs Andrej Martin
Head to head – First Meeting
Nikoloz Basilashvili has been a bit of an enigma this year. The Georgian has blown hot and cold this year and has been the epitome of unpredictability. After winning both his titles this year in Doha and Munich a string of losses have followed. It’s tough to see which Basilashvili shows up this week in Belgrade.
Andrej Martin has toiled hard in the qualifiers and in his first round match to reach this stage. The Slovak has played the majority of his year in Challenger events and not a lot suggests he can out muscle the Georgian on paper at least. Expect Basilashvili to progress ahead if he turns up.
Prediction: Basilashvili in 2
Roberto Carballes Baena vs Gael Monfils
Head to head – First Meeting
This should be pretty interesting to follow purely because Gael Monfils enters this match woefully short on match practice and rhythm. The Frenchman, seeded second here, is playing just his third tournament since the Australian Open, having won just one match since. Monfils is a joy to watch when in full flow but at the moment he’s just not there.
Roberto Carballes Baena is one of the may Spaniards who play their best tennis on clay and this is a good chance for the Spaniard to notch up a fine win. Carballes Baena loves to rally from the baseline and that can lead to Monfils committing a lot of errors as he’s not had a lot of control when accelerating his groundstrokes this year. Expect Carballes Baena to get through.
Prediction: Carballes Baena in 3
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