ATP Bucharest 1/16-Finals
Albot – Kovacevic: 16.04.2024 11:30 CEST
H2H: first meeting
Radu Albot is in solid form at the moment. He won seven out of the last nine matches. Two weeks ago, Albot reached the final at the Girona challenger. He lost against Martinez in two tight sets. Here in Bucharest, Albot won both qualification rounds in straight sets easily. He is from Moldova, so he had a lot of supporters on his side. He is an experienced clay court player and maybe this tournament will push him nearer to the top 100.
Aleksandar Kovacevic rarely plays on the clay. Last time Kovacevic played on the European clay court was last year at the French Open where he lost against Djokovic in the first round. The last tournament he played was in Houston. We mentioned in our previous articles that American clay courts are way faster than the European ones. Kovacevic will definitely need some time to adapt to the surface. He loves to play aggressively, so a slow surface will not help him.
Best Bet to Make
All being said, Albot is far more experienced on clay and has already played a lot of matches this season on the clay. We believe that his experience will prevail, and that he will win easily tomorrow.
That being said, Albot winning is a value bet.
Value bet/ the best odds: Albot winning @1.67 @bet365
Borges – Wawrinka: 16.04.2024 13:00 CEST
H2H: first meeting
Nuno Borges reached the second week of the Australian Open and made himself famous to everyone. He is now on the verge of breaking into the top 50. Last month, Borges won the Phoenix challenger title. He won in the final against Berrettini in two tight sets. The last tournament he played was in his hometown, Estoril. Borges won against Pouille and Musetti before reaching the quarterfinals. Garin defeated him in the quarterfinals after playing for over two hours. This was his first clay court tournament of the season and he looked ready.
Stanislas Wawrinka lost four out of the last five matches. The former French Open champion is far away from his best form. He is 39 years old, and you can see that in his footwork. Unfortunately, we believe that this will be his last season. He has played six clay court matches this season already and has won only two of them. The last match he played was in Monte Carlo, where he was destroyed by de Minaur in the first round. Stan won only three games in this match and showed absolutely nothing. The last time Wawrinka had consecutive wins was last year at the US Open.
Best Bet to Make
Nuno Borges is in better form at the moment. He is 12 years younger than Wawrinka, which is important when you play on a slower surface. We expect a lot of long rallies which should go easily in the favor of Borges.
That being said, Borges to win is a value bet.
Value bet/ the best odds: Borges to win @1.67 @bet365
Main Photo Credit: Susan Mullane-USA TODAY Sports
