ATP Barcelona starts main draw play on Monday as the European clay court swing begins to heat up. While Rafael Nadal will not be able to play on the court named after him, there is plenty of great tennis ahead. While no seeds are in action day one, fans will get to see exciting young star Ben Shelton looking to continue to build off his excellent Australian Open performance. Nicolas Jarry will be the other big draw after winning Santiago and having a strong South American clay court performance. All of the day one Barcelona matches are predicted at Last Word on Tennis, with three previewed below.
ATP Barcelona Day 1 Predictions
Nicolas Jarry vs Marco Trungelliti
Head-to-head: 1-0 Trungelliti
Jarry will look to get revenge on his loss in their one prior meeting back in 2014. The big-serving Chilean has had a great start to the year and will be well-rested after taking all of March off. It is clear his focus is on clay, as he has not played on hard since the Australian Open. He won his second career title in Santiago this year and made the semifinal in Rio after qualifying for the event. Trungelliti played more on hard this season and recently made the switch to clay and after qualifying is player his first main draw match of 2023. He has just one Top 100 win this year and does not seem to be a threat at a high level. Jarry has played great tennis on the clay and will overpower Trungelliti to take the match.
Prediction: Jarry in 2
Pavel Kotov vs Oleksii Krutykh
Head-to-head: 1-0 Krutykh
These two are familiar with each other after playing earlier this year in Doha qualifying. Neither player played the South American swing but they each moved to clay Challengers earlier in the season. Kotov played his best tennis last year on clay and won his first Challenger title on the surface in August. Krutykh also plays his best tennis on the surface and won his first two Challenger titles last season, both on clay. Krutykh has had a tough run so far on clay, though he has improved his record to 4-4 on the surface in 2023, he has yet to have a win over a solid player on the surface. Kotov is coming off a strong run to the semifinal two weeks ago in Marrakech and scored a strong win in qualifying over Benoit Paire. Krutykh is slightly more comfortable on clay but form is huge and Kotov is showing much stronger form. It could go either way but Kotov has the advantage.
Prediction: Kotov in 3
Ben Shelton vs Mackenzie McDonald
Head-to-head: First meeting
The two Americans are meeting for the first time in Barcelona. McDonald is more experienced but clay has been by far his worst surface, and he lost his lone clay match of the year last week in Monte Carlo. Shelton played well on the Challenger circuit last year on clay and came to Europe early to prepare for the clay season, playing his third event on the surface. He is just 1-2 so far on clay but gave Grigor Dimitrov a great three set battle in Monte Carlo. Shelton has played great this year, and while McDonald is playing some of his best tennis, he does not match up great with Shelton. Shelton hits a strong lefty forehand and McDonald defends well at his small stature but will not be able to hit through Shelton. This one should be close but Shelton will prevail in the end.
Prediction: Shelton in 3
Main Photo Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
