ATP Barcelona 1/8-Finals
Etcheverry – Nakashima: 18.04.2024 11:00 CEST
H2H: first meeting
Tomas Etcheverry has won three out of his last five matches. Yesterday, Etcheverry won against the qualifier, Hardt, in straight sets. Last week, Etcheverry got embarrassed against Tsitsipas in the second round of the ATP Monte Carlo. Etcheverry won the first game, and after that, Etcheverry lost 12 consecutive games. Tsitsipas won 6-1 6-0 in the end, and also went on to win the Monte Carlo Masters for the third time in his career. He is actually a very solid clay court player. He also played many matches this season on the clay, but did not have any remarkable results. Earlier this month, Etcheverry reached the semifinals in Houston, where he lost against the current champion, Ben Shelton.
Brandon Nakashima won against Andrey Rublev in the second round. This was his second top 10 win of his career. Nakashima won four out of the last five matches he played. He also lost against Ben Shelton last week in Houston where he reached the quarterfinals. Nakashima is a typical American player who loves to play on the fast courts. This surface is unusual for him, but he still played well against Rublev. However, we have to say that Rublev played another terrible match.
Best Bet to Make
We believe that Tomas Etcheverry is a great clay court player. Brandon Nakashima might be in good form, but we believe that he will struggle against the Argentinian. Etcheverry reached the quarterfinals of the French Open last year, so that tells you a lot.
That being said, Echeverry to win is a value bet.
Value bet/ the best odds: Tomas Etcheverry winning @1.73 @bet365
Davidovich Fokina – Lajovic: 18.04.2024 12:30 CEST
H2H: 0-2
Alejandro Davidovich Fokina lost four out of his last five matches. He is in terrible form, and if he does not start winning, he might be outside the top 30 anytime soon. Tomas Machac could not play, so Fokina had the first round walkover. Before that, Fokina had played only one clay court tournament this season. It was last week in Monte Carlo, where he got completely demolished by Sebastian Korda. He lost his nerves, and it was just overall a bad performance from him. The last time Davidovich Fokina won a clay court match was last year in Hamburg. It has been almost a year.
Dusan Lajovic won both of his matches here in straight sets. In the first round, Lajovic won against Schwartzman 6-1 6-2. Schwartzman just looked helpless against him. Today, Lajovic won another match in straight sets against Humbert. Dusan loves to play on the clay courts. He needs a lot of time for his backhand preparation, something similar to Tsitsipas. Lajovic had his biggest results on clay. Last year, he won the ATP Banja Luka, winning against Djokovic in the quarterfinals and Rublev in the final.
Best Bet to Make
Dusan Lajovic played great tennis here in Barcelona. We believe that he is currently in better form than Davidovich Fokina. The last time they played was in Rome on clay. Lajovic won that match in straight sets easily. We expect a similar performance tomorrow from Lajovic.
That being said, Lajovic winning is a value bet.
Value bet/ the best odds: Lajovic winning @2.00 @bet365
Main Photo Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
