Croatia is hosting France on indoor clay in Osijek as both teams are trying to secure Davis Cup Finals qualification. The home team is a mix of the experience of Marin Cilic, Nikola Mektic, or Mate Pavic, and young up-and-comers like Matej Dodig or Dino Prizmic. But France has brought in a strong team too and captain Paul-Henri Mathieu had a few nomination dilemmas. We predict all rubbers of the upcoming tie, who do you think will win?
Davis Cup Predictions – Croatia vs France
Dino Prizmic vs Corentin Moutet
Head-to-head: First meeting
After a year full of injury struggles, Dino Prizmic finally found his form again in the spring and has been on an incredible run since May. In his last five Challenger appearances, he’s always reached the final and won two titles. Recently he also qualified for the US Open and will be a strong No. 2 for Croatia here. But Corentin Moutet is also in the form of his life and if he plays a smart match, he could expose the Serbian’s relative lack of firepower. After all, he’s so comfortable slowing down the pace and mixing up rhythm.
Prediction: Moutet in 2
Marin Cilic vs Arthur Rinderknech
Head-to-head: 1-1
It’s tough to say how Marin Cilic is doing health-wise at the moment, considering he didn’t play any tournaments between Wimbledon and the US Open. While he did look fine against Alexander Bublik in New York, he was also outplayed easily. The indoor clay conditions in Osijek shouldn’t be too detrimental to Arthur Rinderknech’s game with some extra time to protect his backhand, but still enough pop to produce his aggression. If Cilic is a bit rusty, the Frenchman could easily produce the upset here.
Prediction: Rinderknech in 3
Nikola Mektic/Mate Pavic vs Benjamin Bonzi/Pierre-Hugues Herbert
Head-to-head: First meeting
Benjamin Bonzi and Pierre-Hugues Herbert can be tricky customers. While they’ve only played five doubles matches together, they defeated Brazil’s Rafael Matos/Marcelo Melo in Davis Cup in January before claiming the ATP 250 Marseille title. Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic used to dominate the doubles tour in 2021-22 before splitting up the year after and only playing two matches since (Paris Olympics and Davis Cup in January). They’re still amazing on their own, but will need to restore that chemistry quickly.
Prediction: Mektic/Pavic in 3
Marin Cilic vs Corentin Moutet
Head-to-head: Cilic 1-0
This tie probably won’t be that lopsided, so it’s somewhat likely this No. 1 vs No. 1 battle will be required. Corentin Moutet played Marin Cilic once at the Australian Open five years ago, but their quality gap has definitely decreased since then. It’s tough to predict what sort of focus Moutet will bring to this Davis Cup tie as concentration is often an issue for him. But the best version of his game contains so many ways to throw an opponent under the bus and it’s not impossible that Cilic would leak errors against his slices.
Prediction: Moutet in 3
Dino Prizmic vs Arthur Rinderknech
Head-to-head: First meeting
If it goes to the deciding rubber, the tie will likely be decided by Dino Prizmic and Arthur Rinderknech. For what it’s worth, the Croat might actually find this one more suitable than the matchup with Corentin Moutet. He moves and defends extremely well, which could help him neutralize Rinderknech’s aggression. The Frenchman plays a rather one-note brand of attacking tennis and won’t make Prizmic have to come out of his comfort zone to create offense himself.
Prediction: Prizmic in 3
Main Photo Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
