World number 13 Cameron Norrie will face the 108th-ranked Pavel Kotov in the second round of the 2023 ATP Barcelona Open on Wednesday, April 19. Get the predictions and odds of this Cameron Norrie v Pavel Kotov match along with its preview, head to head, and tips here.
Looking to Bet on the 2023 ATP Barcelona Open live online?
- For tennis fans in the Europe & elsewhere go to bet365 > Tennis > here to bet on the ATP & WTA tennis live.
- Other Barcelona Open match previews & predictions options here
[the_ad id=”43630″]
Cameron Norrie v Pavel Kotov Head to Head
Norrie and Kotov have never faced off in a match before this.
Also Read:
Norrie Returns after Early Monte-Carlo Loss
A quarterfinalist here at each of his previous two appearances, Norrie will now return to the Barcelona Open with a first round bye here. And with three successive defeats under his belt which would have been slightly flummoxing for the world number 13.
The reason for that is Norrie’s form previously which saw him make the finals of three tournaments in 2023 and win one of them. That victory came on clay, as did one of the other two final appearances.
In fact, coming into his quarterfinal match against Frances Tiafoe at Indian Wells, Norrie was a 14/25 favourite to win it but fell to a straight-set loss. Then up against Gregoire Barrere who was 5/1 odds in their Miami Masters opener, Norrie lost in straight sets again.
And that was followed by a shock defeat at the hands of Francisco Cerundolo at the Monte-Carlo Masters with Norrie looking listless yet again.
For a player to suffer such a dramatic turnaround could be a pointer towards Norrie not feeling the best physically, which is why it would be interesting to see how he goes here against a player ranked 108th in the world.
[the_ad id=”30513″]
Qualifier Kotov Needs Three against Krutykh
Oleksii Krutykh has never been ranked better than 160th in the world but he managed to push Kotov to the third set. Fortunately for Kotov, his opponent ran out of steam in the decider with the Russian player winning 6-7 (5), 6-4, 6-1.
Kotov was on court for nearly two and a half hours, and while he did not drop his serve even once, the 108th-ranked player did not have it easy.
The first set proved to be a tough nut to crack for both players with neither earning a single break-point. It was Krutykh who forged a 4-1 lead in the tie-breaker that followed and while Kotov tried to fight back, his opponent claimed the lead soon.
Four games into the second set no break had yet been found before Kotov got what he needed in the fifth. He had a couple more chances to break again in the seventh game of the second set before finally wrapping up the equaliser off the first set-point he got.
And now with the momentum having swung back in his favour, Kotov eased past his opponent with three breaks of serves.
This follows qualifying wins over Matteo Gigante and Benoit Paire, both of which came in three sets too for Kotov. Can the Marrakesh Open semifinalist now make things difficult for Norrie?
Norrie v Kotov Prediction and Tip
While Norrie is a favourite here, we will have to approach this with a bit of caution given what’s gone on in recent times. Might see Kotov put up a challenge, at least in one set.
Tips:
- Low Risk Tip: Over 8.5 games in the first set: 1/2 (Click Here to Bet with bet365)
- Moderate Risk Tip: Over 20.5 games in the match: 10/11 (Click Here to Bet with bet365)
[the_ad id=”30513″]
The 2023 ATP Barcelona Open will be played from April 17 to 23. You can get all the tennis betting news with our tennis betting blog here. Also get rest of the tennis match previews here.
Be the first to comment