ATP Marrakech in Morocco begins the spring clay court season on the ATP World Tour, and day 1 features three main draw matches in addition to a host of final round qualifiers that feature former top level players David Goffin and Fabio Fognini, both of whom fall outside of the ATP’s top 100 rankings currently but should still be good enough to reach the main draw of the tournament.
Pavel Kotov vs Elliot Benchetrit
Benchetrit won their only meeting but that was quite some time ago, the French born player now represents Morocco and has home support in this matchup. He did get a wild card but he hasn’t made an impact at even the Challenger Tour level since 2021 when he won 7 Challenger level matches. Kotov had a career year last year, breaking onto the ATP tour, now he’s 4-7 playing a full ATP schedule this year. The Russian isn’t a world beater yet but he’s the more trusted player in this matchup. Kotov in 2
Luca Van Assche vs Jaume Munar
Van Assche edged Munar to start the season, he has 5 ATP level wins this year after a record 12 last season. Munar is a pedestrian 6-8 on the season, he’s shown prowess on clay in the past and did reach the quarters in Santiago some weeks back. This looks like a competitive matchup, I’ll take the Spaniard to get revenge for their past meeting in a close match. Munar in 3
Mariano Navone vs Aziz Dougaz
Navone is at a career high ranking of #59, achieved after he reached the Rio ATP final as a qualifier in a surprise run. The Argentine certainly has the skills and comfort level on clay and would try to seize on what is a weak field to make another run at the ATP level. Dougaz is a journeyman but he did post a 24-28 ATP Challenger Tour record last year and has shown some improvements in his game. The younger Navone is the one everyone is talking about heading into this match though. Navone in 2
Main Photo Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
