This week’s ATP 250 event in Estoril had several late withdrawals, but it still features a very interesting field, and with a lot of Portuguese players in the draw to keep the attention of the home crowd. Some of them will be in action in this first day, which will surely feature some excellent tennis and very tight matches.
ATP Estoril Day 1 Predictions
Tiago Torres vs Nikoloz Basilashvili
Head-to-head: first meeting
Basilashvili hasn’t been playing very well in recent months, with his form really going down after a solid run in Rome, where it looked like he might be on his way back. That said, he faces a Portuguese wild card ranked #430, so even with Torres getting home crowd support here, under normal circumstances Basilashvili should be able to pull through here.
Prediction: Basilashvili in 2
Titouan Droguet vs Camilo Ugo Carabelli
Head-to-head: first meeting
Droguet has been playing well on clay post-Wimbledon, but Ugo Carabelli is always a very tough nut to crack in these smaller ATP events, where he gets most of his ranking points. All in all, it should be a very close match, decided by small details on key points, but all things considered Ugo Carabelli should have the slightest of edges here.
Prediction: Ugo Carabelli in 3
Frederico Ferreira Silva vs Luca van Assche
Head-to-head: first meeting
Van Assche hasn’t lived up to the promise he showed a few years ago and is struggling to stay in the Top 100, but on paper he has an excellent draw here, against Portuguese wild card ranked #233. Even with the home crowd backing Silva, van Assche’s superior consistency off the back of the court should make the difference here.
Prediction: van Assche in 2
Pedro Martinez vs Henrique Rocha
Head-to-head: first meeting
Martinez used to be a staple at these clay 250 events, but he is clearly on his way down at the moment. Rocha is on a losing streak at the moment, but playing at home he might just have enough to get a win here.
Prediction: Rocha in 3
Main Photo Credit: Clayton Freeman/Florida Times-Union]
