ATP 250 Montpellier 1/16-Finals
Barrere – Koepfer: 27.01.2025 20:00 CEST
H2H: first meeting
Gregoire Barrere has lost three of his last five matches. Last week in Quimper, Barrere played in the Challenger tournament, losing in the second round against Berankis in straight sets. At the beginning of the season, Barrere played in Thailand at the Challenger tournament, losing against Karatsev in the final. Two years ago, Gregoire was a top-50 player. The Frenchman hopes to regain his best form and return to the top 100 in the rankings. Last year in Montpellier, Barrere reached the second round, losing against Shevchenko in three sets. His biggest result happened in 2023; he reached the quarterfinals, losing against Rune in straight sets.
Dominik Koepfer has won three of his last five matches and successfully qualified for the Australian Open main draw tournament. However, he lost in the opening main draw round against Thompson in four sets. Last week in Oeiras, Koepfer lost in the opening round against Mejia in three tight sets. The conditions were similar to Montpellier’s, but he underperformed in the Challenger tournament. This is his first appearance in Montpellier.
Best Bet to Make
According to the bookies, this will be a 50-50 match, but we disagree. Barrere will have the crowd on his side. He is also a better indoor hard-court player than Koepfer, and we expect him to dominate this matchup. He also had some decent results in Montpellier already. On the other hand, Koepfer has never had any success with fast indoor courts like this.
That being said, Barrere winning is a value bet.
Value bet/ the best odds: Gregoire Barrere winning @1.80 @bet365
Griekspoor – Van de Zandschulp: 28.01.2025 14:30 CEST
H2H: 2-2
Tallon Griekspoor has lost four of his last five matches. So far this season, Griekspoor has only played in the Australian Open. As we predicted, he lost in the opening round against Hurkacz in straight sets. The last match he played before the Australian Open was in the Davis Cup the previous year, losing against Sinner in straight sets. Last season, Griekspoor did not have any remarkable results. This will be his third appearance in Montpellier. He has never made it past the second round.
Botic Van de Zandschulp has lost three of his last five matches. So far this season, Botic has played two tournaments. At the beginning of the season, Botic played in Auckland, losing against Basavareddy in the first qualifying round. Two weeks ago in Melbourne, Van de Zandschulp lost against de Minaur in the opening round of the Australian Open in straight sets. This will be his second appearance in Montpellier.
Best Bet to Make
According to the bookies, Griekspoor is the slight favorite in this matchup, and we agree. Both players are out of form. However, Tallon is a better indoor hard-court player than Botic. So far in his career, Tallon has won both of his titles on grass courts. He loves to play at indoor tournaments like this, and we expect him to defeat Van de Zandschulp easily.
That being said, Griekspoor winning is a value bet.
Value bet/ the best odds: Tallon Griekspoor winning @1.62 @bet365
Main Photo Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
