The first round action at the 2021 ATP Barcelona Open kick-starts on Monday and will have Pierre-Hugues Herbert take on Sumit Nagal and Ilya Ivashka play Tallon Griekspoor. Get the live streaming options along the predictions, preview and head to head for these matches along with Benoit Paire v Federico Gaio and Bernabé Zapata Miralles v Andrey Kuznetsov.
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Pierre-Hugues Herbert v Sumit Nagal Preview
This will be a second meeting between the Frenchman Herbert and India’s Nagal with their only previous match having come in the qualifiers of the Cologne Open last year. Herbert had come through in straight sets there.
This one, on clay, might be a slightly more hard-fought encounter, with Nagal’s preferred option being this surface. The 135th-ranked player came through to the main draw with victories over Ilya Marchenko and Thomas Fabbiano in the qualifiers and had earlier also made it as far as the quarterfinals at the Buenos Aires Open.
On the other hand, Herbert, who is 65 places ahead of Nagal, kick-starts his Barcelona Open campaign on the back of a first round loss at the Monte-Carlo Masters. He will still be our favourite here, despite going into the match at 11/10 odds – which seem tempting enough for a player in the top 70 taking on another who needs to go through qualifiers at events to make main draw.
Herbert v Nagal Tip
Herbert to win: 11/10 (bet365)
Ilya Ivashka v Tallon Griekspoor Preview
The 111th-ranked Ivashka will be up against the 143rd-ranked Griekspoor in a battle of two qualifiers, and one that will be a repeat of a Challenger they had faced off in Ostrava last year. That match was won by Griekspoor in straight sets.
This year, Ivashka has already made it to the second round in Miami and was a quarterfinalist at the Marbella Open in what was his first tournament on clay in 2021. He makes it to the main draw with straight-set victories over Maxime Cressy and Federico Gaio while Griekspoor had it a lot tougher before he clinched his place in round one here.
Incidentally though, clay is more of a favourite for Grieskpoor and that should give him an edge despite Ivashka starting out a favourite.
Ivashka v Griekspoor Tip
Griekspoor to win a set – Yes: 4/6 (bet365)
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Benoit Paire v Federico Gaio Preview
While in their only previous meeting which took place on the Challenger circuit way back in 2015, Paire had defeated Gaio, things look to have changed drastically. Paire, for instance, is not enjoying his tennis and has made it amply clear.
That has seeped right into his results, with the Frenchman winning just one of the 10 matches he has played in so far this year – that came in the first round of the Cordoba Open against Nicholas Jarry.
Making it worse for Paire is even in those losses he has shown no signs of putting up much of a fight – winning three sets in those nine defeats.
On the other hand, Gaio is currently 136th in the world, and enters this main draw as a lucky loser after falling to Ivashka in the qualifiers. His only main draw wins this season have come on the Challenger circuit and that makes this an interesting match-up; a player not up for a fight taking on one who is still finding his way at the highest level should give us an equal, if ragged contest.
Paire v Gaio Tip
Three sets in the match: 6/4 (bet365)
Bernabé Zapata Miralles v Andrey Kuznetsov Preview
The 146th-ranked Zapata Miralles will be up against the world number 481 Kuznetsov in this opener, in what would again be a match between two qualifiers.
For a player ranked as low as outside the top 140, Zapata Miralles has had a few good results come his way this year. He made it to the final of the Quimper Challenger, and then qualified to enter the second round in Dubai.
Kuznetsov, on the other hand, has been a regular feature on the Futures circuit, making it to the quarterfinal in one of the Challengers at St. Petersburg and now qualifying for this ATP competition. He is a former world number 39 who took a break from the sport to focus on coaching and while he ranked 481st on his return, his performances have been a lot better than that.
Expecting a tighter match here as well.
Zapata Miralles v Kuznetsov Tip
Three sets in the match: 6/4 (bet365)
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The 2021 Charleston Open will be played from April 5 to 11. You can watch & bet on the these matches here. Get your latest premium tennis predictions here.
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