{"id":52796,"date":"2022-10-09T17:32:31","date_gmt":"2022-10-09T21:32:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/?p=52796"},"modified":"2022-10-09T17:32:31","modified_gmt":"2022-10-09T21:32:31","slug":"atp-gijon-day-1-predictions-thiem-sousa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/2022\/10\/09\/atp-gijon-day-1-predictions-thiem-sousa\/","title":{"rendered":"ATP Gijon Day 1 Predictions Including Dominic Thiem vs Joao Sousa"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The indoor ATP Gijon Open kicks off with a bang with a number of exciting matchups on day one, including several top-100 stars and one former-Grand Slam champion. As always, we here at LWOT, are offering our predictions for every match on the schedule. But who will come out on top in Spain?<\/p>\n<h2>ATP Gijon Day 1 Predictions<\/h2>\n<h4>Thiago Monteiro v Benjamin Bonzi<\/h4>\n<p><strong>Head-to-head:<\/strong> Bonzi 1-0 Monteiro<\/p>\n<p>Though Benjamin Bonzi has lost 10 of his last 14 matches, his recent results don\u2019t paint the whole picture. The Frenchman has kept every loss incredibly close (bar a retirement against Rune) and after initially struggling with nerves making the transition from the Challenger-level, he\u2019s finally settled into the ATP. He turns up to give every and any opponent a hard time.\u00a0The same could be said about Thiago Monteiro who is just coming off a gritty Challenger title in Genoa. His rally temperament, big forehand and middling serve really do make him far more comfortable on clay however. Monteiro will fight hard but Bonzi&#8217;s level should see him through.<\/p>\n<p><em>Prediction: Bonzi in 3<br \/>\n<a id=\"vC29aXZsRZpLfgm6K7NEqQ\" class=\"gie-single\" style=\"color: #a7a7a7; text-decoration: none; font-weight: normal !important; border: none; display: inline-block;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/1417830345\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><script>window.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:'vC29aXZsRZpLfgm6K7NEqQ',sig:'kl0zSDKQLYnnfQUwgqoLTfg1eUId9r_SLBrNOr8oQ0M=',w:'594px',h:'396px',items:'1417830345',caption: true ,tld:'com',is360: false })});<\/script><script src='\/\/embed-cdn.gettyimages.com\/widgets.js' charset='utf-8' async><\/script><\/em><\/p>\n<h4>Tommy Paul v Martin Landaluce<\/h4>\n<p><strong>Head-to-head:<\/strong> first meeting<\/p>\n<p>Martin Landaluce is making his ATP Tour debut at only 16 years old. The Spanish wildcard is #3 in the junior ITF rankings having won the US Open weeks ago.\u00a0That\u2019s all well and good but the Junior ITF Tour is vastly different from the ATP Tour.<\/p>\n<p>Perhaps physicality won\u2019t make a huge difference in the first-round of the tournament &#8211; it\u2019s normally the consistency of the serve that sets the boys apart from the men. A former junior world #3 himself, Tommy Paul struggled before making the leap to the top-50 &#8211; his level is undoubtedly there now though. He\u2019ll get his through his own service games more easily than Landaluce and will know exactly what to expect from the other side of the court.<\/p>\n<p><em>Prediction: Paul in 2<br \/>\n<a id=\"rw_epJDxQeJfstM45OFMHQ\" class=\"gie-single\" style=\"color: #a7a7a7; text-decoration: none; font-weight: normal !important; border: none; display: inline-block;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/1424887515\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><script>window.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:'rw_epJDxQeJfstM45OFMHQ',sig:'8t9RVT3JIJ___Svz9SLr0BIMFCmsofcQFmAPlnf2VfA=',w:'594px',h:'396px',items:'1424887515',caption: true ,tld:'com',is360: false })});<\/script><script src='\/\/embed-cdn.gettyimages.com\/widgets.js' charset='utf-8' async><\/script><\/em><\/p>\n<h4>Arthur Rinderknech v Carlos Taberner<\/h4>\n<p><strong>Head-to-head:<\/strong> first meeting<\/p>\n<p>Another Spanish player who almost certainly prefers clay over other surfaces. However, whilst Landaluce is largely an unknown quantity on the surface, we know Carlos Taberner will struggle to blow any opponent off an indoor-hard-court with sheer power alone.\u00a0Arthur Rinderknech had a pretty dire start to the season but playing in his favoured conditions has notched him some impressive wins over the last few weeks. Taberner is solid enough to take a set but Rinderknech will be looking for a strong finish to a middling season.<\/p>\n<p><em>Prediction: Rinderknech in 3<br \/>\n<a id=\"0Xhx_zjqQ0tNfc9UySWQzQ\" class=\"gie-single\" style=\"color: #a7a7a7; text-decoration: none; font-weight: normal !important; border: none; display: inline-block;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/1419764979\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><script>window.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:'0Xhx_zjqQ0tNfc9UySWQzQ',sig:'BjQnJJgaz8b9hNAXA1p7HysUvwtfL5Sqz6-P4FZ9svk=',w:'594px',h:'396px',items:'1419764979',caption: true ,tld:'com',is360: false })});<\/script><script src='\/\/embed-cdn.gettyimages.com\/widgets.js' charset='utf-8' async><\/script><br \/>\n<\/em><\/p>\n<h4>Constant Lestienne v Sebastian Baez<\/h4>\n<p><strong>Head-to-head:<\/strong> first meeting<\/p>\n<p>Sebastian Baez is on a brutal 11-match losing streak. Despite this, his loss to Carlos Alcaraz at the US Open showcased some of the best tennis we&#8217;ve ever seen from the Argentinian. Form may be against him but it&#8217;s difficult to say for sure how this will affect Baez.\u00a0\u00a0Unfortunately what is certain is that the conditions don&#8217;t suit his game. Indoor-hard is very serve-centric and, whilst Constant Lestienne doesn&#8217;t have the greatest serve in the game, it should be markedly more effective than Baez&#8217;s. Expect a close contest, but this is the kind of match Lestienne should be winning as he looks to build on the best period of his career so far.<\/p>\n<p><em>Prediction: Lestienne in 3<br \/>\n<a id=\"xSNGU0mLRUxLXe6qGRKzzA\" class=\"gie-single\" style=\"color: #a7a7a7; text-decoration: none; font-weight: normal !important; border: none; display: inline-block;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/1243650614\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><script>window.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:'xSNGU0mLRUxLXe6qGRKzzA',sig:'C5AsgweVneIsb9jqcUUxXfN6xzLzxNRwaGOkfaUyTUw=',w:'594px',h:'396px',items:'1243650614',caption: true ,tld:'com',is360: false })});<\/script><script src='\/\/embed-cdn.gettyimages.com\/widgets.js' charset='utf-8' async><\/script><\/em><\/p>\n<h4>Dominic Thiem vs Joao Sousa<\/h4>\n<p><strong>Head-to-head:<\/strong> Thiem 6-1 Sousa<\/p>\n<p>Joao Sousa can play exceptionally well on an indoor-hard-court. Though he&#8217;s won 52% of his matches on the surface, he has reached the latter stages of many of the tournaments he&#8217;s played. His only win over Dominic Thiem came in one such run when he reached the final of St. Petersburg. He may be passed his best but he can still play aggressive front-foot tennis in steady conditions. This won&#8217;t be easy for Thiem. If he&#8217;s winning, he&#8217;s winning the hard way as he slowly pieces together his best level. Still, given some of his recent wins, we&#8217;ll go with the Austrian by a whisker.<\/p>\n<p><em>Prediction: Thiem in 3<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Main photo:<br \/>\n<a id=\"OiWX5trWQehKE8apULMTlA\" class=\"gie-single\" style=\"color: #a7a7a7; text-decoration: none; font-weight: normal !important; border: none; display: inline-block;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/1243573913\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><script>window.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:'OiWX5trWQehKE8apULMTlA',sig:'p3SkFLzam3s0M6K3ecPG3j80Vv9-pRdBlMq4JyDXihs=',w:'594px',h:'396px',items:'1243573913',caption: true ,tld:'com',is360: false })});<\/script><script src='\/\/embed-cdn.gettyimages.com\/widgets.js' charset='utf-8' async><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The indoor ATP Gijon Open kicks off with a bang with a number of exciting matchups on day one, including several top-100 stars and one former-Grand Slam champion. As always, we here at LWOT, are offering our predictions for every match on the schedule. But who will come out on top in Spain? ATP Gijon [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3704,"featured_media":52801,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[69],"tags":[10566,15504,18297,18298,10889,15823,2919,15680,7232,18190,208,15708,357,15607,18299,18300,13328,16260,2373,2369,816,15464,1635,15665],"class_list":["post-52796","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-predictions","tag-arthur-rinderknech","tag-arthur-rinderknech-predictions","tag-atp-gijon","tag-atp-gijon-predictions","tag-benjamin-bonzi","tag-benjamin-bonzi-predictions","tag-carlos-taberner","tag-carlos-taberner-predictions","tag-constant-lestienne","tag-constant-lestienne-predictions","tag-dominic-thiem","tag-dominic-thiem-predictions","tag-joao-sousa","tag-joao-sousa-predictions","tag-martin-landaluce","tag-martin-landaluce-predictions","tag-sebastian-baez","tag-sebastian-baez-predictions","tag-tennis-picks","tag-tennis-predictions","tag-thiago-monteiro","tag-thiago-monteiro-predictions","tag-tommy-paul","tag-tommy-paul-predictions"],"modified_by":"Jim Smith","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52796","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3704"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=52796"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52796\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/52801"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=52796"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=52796"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=52796"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}