The ATP Tour returns to Umag, Croatia for the Plava Laguna Croatia Open. Last year’s event saw Carlos Alcaraz raise his first career ATP trophy. The Spaniard is back to defend his crown as the tournament’s #1 seed but has an uphill battle in what is a loaded field. Day 2 features last week’s Hamburg champion Lorenzo Musetti taking on Aljaz Bedene. As always, we at LWOT share will share our thoughts on that match as well as all other happens around the grounds of Umag. Who do you think will be victorious on Day 2?
ATP Umag Day 2 Predictions
Dino Prizmic vs Bernabe Zapata Miralles
Head-to-Head: first meeting
Bernabe Zapata Miralles is currently playing some of the best tennis of his young career, achieving a career-high ranking of World #81 last week. The Spaniard has won 11 of his last 16 clay court matches including a run out of the qualies and into the second week at Roland Garros. He will take on 16-year-old Croatian Wildcard Dino Prizmic in Round 1 in Umag. This will be Prizmic’s first tour-level match of his career. He is currently ranked as the #10 Junior in the World. This match will be great experience for the young Croatian, but I do not believe he has any shot at pulling off the upset.
Prediction: Zapata Miralles in 2
Daniel Altmaier vs Corentin Moutet
Head-to-Head: Altmaier 1-0 Moutet
#6 seed Daniel Altmaier will take on qualifier Corentin Moutet in Round 1 in Umag. The 23-year-olds met last year in Umag with Moutet forced to retire at the beginning of the third set due to injury. Moutet, who cruised through two qualifying matches in straight sets, is looking for his first main draw, tour-level win since besting Stan Wawrinka in Round 1 at Roland Garros. Though he has had some Challenger-level success, the Frenchman has not beaten a player ranked inside the World top-85 since January. Altmaier is going through a bit of a rough patch himself having lost eight of his last ten matches. I foresee this match coming down to a deciding set and actually favor Moutet to find a way to advance.
Prediction: Moutet in 3
Facundo Bagnis vs Tomas Martin Etcheverry
Head-to-Head: Bagnis 1-1 Etcheverry
Argentines Facundo Bagnis and Tomas Martin Etcheverry will be looking to break their 1-1 career head-to-head in Round 1 at the Croatia Open. Their previous two meetings came at the Challenger level. Etcheverry is nine years younger and the more in-form player. He has played 49 of his 56 matches this season on the clay and holds a ton of confidence on the surface. With that said, Bagnis is certainly no walkover. The 32-year-old is seemingly on the final legs of his career and will be hungry to perform well at an event where he reached the quarterfinals in 2019. I do, however, see Etcheverry being able to take care of Bagnis in straight sets.
Prediction: Etcheverry in 2
Lorenzo Musetti vs Aljaz Bedene
Head-to-Head: Musetti 1-0 Bedene
Coming off of his first Tour-level title with a three-set victory over Carlos Alcaraz in Hamburg, Lorenzo Musetti is looking to keep the momentum rolling in Umag. The 20-year-old Italian proved what a week of consistent play can look like from him last week. He is in much better form than Aljaz Bedene, who has yet to win a match since Roland Garros. The question for me is will the 11+ hours Musetti spent on court in Hamburg plague his fitness in Umag? I believe the vastly different level of form between these two players will lead to a win for the Italian, but his fitness is certainly something to be cognizant of this week.
Prediction: Musetti in 2
Main Photo from Getty.
