Roberto Carballes Baena won his second ATP Tour title in Marrakech in 2023 before losing to Matteo Berrettini in last year’s final. The Spaniard must be among the title favorites again, but someone like No. 3 seed Alexandre Muller will also feel like he’s very much in the race. Both players will be competing in their second-round matches on Wednesday. Who do you think will make the quarterfinals?
ATP Marrakech Day 3 Predictions
Jesper de Jong vs Kamil Majchrzak
Head-to-head: First meeting
Jesper de Jong is finally a Top 100 player as of Monday and that has to be a big weight off his shoulders. It would be amazing for him to instantly turn it into another ATP Tour run after making the Montpellier semifinals in January. But Kamil Majchrzak is also due a result at this level and posted a great win over Jaume Munar in the opening round. This looks like a cracker and maybe de Jong can just keep rolling with the confidence from the last few weeks. His aggression also has a bigger margin for error than Majchrzak.
Prediction: de Jong in 3
Roberto Carballes Baena vs Otto Virtanen
Head-to-head: First meeting
Technical issues in Marrakech meant we didn’t get to see how Otto Virtanen turned it around against Daniel Altmaier (at least not from 1-4 in the deciding set to the final tie-break). But it was a crucial win for the Finn, who’s dropped a ton of points recently and was just 3-9 for the season. He’s not a clay-court master by any means, but when mentally engaged, he often displays surprising patience. It’s probably a little too up and down to defeat such a veteran grinder as Roberto Carballes Baena.
Prediction: Carballes Baena in 3
Alexandre Muller vs Hugo Dellien
Head-to-head: First meeting
Alexandre Muller continues to exceed expectations with an ATP Tour title this year, a final of an ATP 500, and a Top 50 debut. He is a former runner-up in Marrakech after losing to Roberto Carballes Baena in the 2023 final. Last year, he went out in the opening round to Aleksandar Vukic, who was dispatched by Hugo Dellien in a thriller on Monday. It seems like Muller has taken a leap this year and it might be enough to put him out of Dellien’s range at the moment.
Prediction: Muller in 2
Main Photo Credit: Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports
