The ATP Marseille Open kicks off its main draw action with three singles matches on Monday with some veterans and some stars of the future set to take to the court in Provence. As always, we here at LWOT will be offering our predictions for all three singles matches,
ATP Marseille Day 1 Predictions
Maxime Cressy vs Martin Damm (Qualifying)
Head-to-head: Damm 1-0 Cressy
Two excellent servers, who are both willing to rush the net as well, will face off here. Martin Damm has a more “regular” style though while Maxime Cressy is just a straight-up serve-and-volleyer. Cressy was runner-up in Montpellier around this time last year, but after that his form went away completely and now he’s trying to return to the big stages. This is something a coin toss with how big their first deliveries are, but Damm won their only meeting in Bratislava last year and being a lefty might help.
Prediction: Damm in 3
Maximilian Marterer vs Lorenzo Musetti
Head-to-head: first meeting
Maximilian Marterer had such an amazing finish to the previous season, returning to the top 100 after four-and-a-half years and being so dominant indoors. The German has so far failed to claim a victory in 2024 though (0-2), despite being part of Germany’s title-winning United Cup team (but he didn’t play either singles or mixed). Is this a good chance to recover? Potentially. Lorenzo Musetti is always fairly vulnerable on faster hard courts and Marterer has the weaponry to push him.
Prediction: Marterer in 3
Embed from Getty Images
Benjamin Bonzi vs Alexander Shevchenko
Head-to-head: Shevchenko 1-0 Bonzi
Benjamin Bonzi finds himself at a 0-5 record for the year now and this is usually one of his favorite parts of the season (Pune final last year, lots of good results in the indoor Challenger swing). He had some minor physical issues a few months ago that really stopped him in his tracks and now he’s still trying to recover his form. He won’t stay winless for much longer, but he probably is the slight underdog here. Alexander Shevchenko might be inconsistent but he loves having some pace to work with and indoors Bonzi should give him that.
Prediction: Shevchenko in 3
Roberto Bautista Agut vs Richard Gasquet
Head-to-head: Bautista Agut 7-2 Gasquet
What a veteran battle as these two will face each other for the 10th time. It’s weird to see them outside the top 100, but especially for Richard Gasquet this decline has been pretty gradual, Roberto Bautista Agut would probably still be in if not for a two-month lay-off last year. Who has more game left? The early days of this season probably suggest the Spaniard, who also should be more resilient physically at this stage. Gasquet really did not impress in Montpellier.
Prediction: Bautista Agut in 2
Main photo credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports
