Eight players remain in contention at the 2023 ATP Marrakech Grand Prix. There’s been plenty of surprises along the way, but the top two seeds are still in the tournament. As always, we here at LWOT are offering our predictions for the last eight, but who will reach Saturday’s semifinals?
ATP Marrakech Quarterfinal Predictions
Andrea Vavassori vs Dan Evans
Head-to-head: first meeting
Andrea Vavassori only had one win in ATP Tour main draws prior to this week, but added to his resume by taking out Jaume Munar and Nicolas Jarry. His win over the Spaniard took over three hours though (and two match point saves), which could leave him a bit gassed for this quarterfinal. Dan Evans isn’t particularly good on clay, but he’ll be much fresher with just sixteen games in this tournament so far. Expect lots of slicing and serve-and-volleying for a clay-court match.
Prediction: Evans in 3
Lorenzo Musetti vs Alexandre Muller
Head-to-head: first meeting
Lorenzo Musetti desperately needed a win in this event after five straight losses and a pretty disastrous Golden Swing. He got back on the board with a 6-2 6-3 dismissal of Hugo Gaston, which should give him plenty of confidence going forward. Alexandre Muller has been flirting with the main tour for more or less the first time in his career and actually getting some decent results. He is quite limited though and this should be solely on the Italian’s racket.
Prediction: Musetti in 2
Christopher O’Connell vs Pavel Kotov
Head-to-head: O’Connell 1-0 Kotov
Pavel Kotov is doing damage in Marrakech for the second year in a row and that’s despite retiring in his match at the Sanremo Challenger last week. When playing well, the Russian can be an absolute ball machine and seemingly not miss at all from the baseline. He tends to run into a wall a bit when facing top-tier opposition though. Christopher O’Connell might not be exactly that, but he is handling himself well on the ATP Tour and has the firepower to control the points here.
Prediction: O’Connell in 3
Roberto Carballes Baena vs Tallon Griekspoor
Head-to-head: Griekspoor 2-0 Carballes Baena
Last year, Tallon Griekspoor absolutely crushed Roberto Carballes Baena in a Challenger final in Amersfoort to the extent that there was even a compilation of all his winners from that match going around the internet. The Dutchman had an electric start to 2023, but had to take a short break to heal up an injury. He’s got a good matchup with the Spaniard with his mix of power off the ground without being overly hit-or-miss, although it’s unclear yet if he’s back to his best already. You have to be sharp to hit through Carballes Baena on clay.
Prediction: Griekspoor in 3
Main photo credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
