Some of the first round action at the 2023 Los Cabos Open will see James Duckworth take on Otto Virtanen and Gijs Brouwer play Gabriel Diallo. Get the latest predictions along with the odds, preview and head to head for these matches along with Nicolas Moreno de Alboran v Ernesto Escobedo and Alejandro Tabilo v Felipe Meligeni Alves.
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James Duckworth v Otto Virtanen Preview
Head-to-Head: This will be the first meeting between the 128th-ranked Duckworth and the world number 132 Viratanen.
Duckworth, who was once ranked 46th in the world, has a chance for a rare win this season when he takes on a player who has never broken into the top 100 in his career.
Sure, Viratanen is just 22 years old and has some of the best years in front of him but his record this season hasn’t been the best either.
Viratanen has won a couple of Challenger titles in 2023, both of which came on indoor courts but since that second title victory in Lille in April his form has gone south. Spread across the Challenger circuit and qualifiers of ATP events he has won just seven of the 21 matches he has played in.
Duckworth hasn’t had a lot of success either but has done better than his opponent. Having made the Newport Open two weeks ago, he won his opener against Constant Lestienne and then put up a valiant effort against Alex Michelsen in the second before going down in three.
He will hold a slight edge here.
Duckworth v Virtanen Tip
Duckworth to win: 8/11
Gijs Brouwer v Gabriel Diallo Preview
Head-to-Head: Brouwer and Diallo have never faced off before this.
A match that pits a 143rd-ranked player against the world number 145 should turn out to be a humdinger by the looks of things. The difference, however, lies in the manner in which the two have played in recent times and on this surface.
Having featured mostly at the lower level, Brouwer has a win-loss record of 15-22 for the season. On the other hand, the young Diallo has won 25 of his 44 matches this year, thereby entering this tournament on the back of some form at least.
Comparing their performances in hardcourt competitions makes things even more interesting.
Diallo has a title win on the Futures circuit in a tournament played indoors while his outdoor hardcourt record has seen him win six of the 13 matches he’s played. Brouwer is 1-4 in hardcourt competitions and 7-7 indoors.
All of this does point to Diallo starting out as bit of a favourite.
Brouwer v Diallo Tip
Brouwer to win: 11/10
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Nicolas Moreno de Alboran v Ernesto Escobedo Preview
Head-to-Head: These two players haven’t played each other in any competitive match.
It’s a battle between the 150th-player de Alboran and world number 373 Ernesto Escobedo, players who have had their time under the sun while playing in hardcourt competitions.
De Alboran has two career titles on this surface, one of which has come in the Challenger circuit this season. This was in June in Tyler where he defeated Mikhail Kukushkin in the title-decider. on the other hand, all five of Escobedo’s tournament wins have been on the hardcourt circuit.
What needs to be seen, however, is that Escobedo was once ranked 67th in the world and has fallen to outside the top 350 at the moment. That has meant he was forced to feature on the Futures circuit and that’s where he won one of those titles.
More recently, Escobedo has featured in four Challenger tournaments, not making it past the first round at any of them.
This could cause a lack of confidence for Escobedo and automatically makes de Alboran a favourite to edge past his opponent.
de Alboran v Escobedo Tip
de Alboran to win: 10/11
Alejandro Tabilo v Felipe Meligeni Alves Preview
Head-to-Head: Their only previous meeting came on the Challenger circuit in Campinas in 2020. Alves had won that encounter.
Known more for his performances on clay, Tabilo will hope that his switch to the hard courts of Los Cabos will also bring him the kind of results he is so hoping from the tour.
Ranked 125th in the world at the moment, Tabilo has featured in 10 clay court competitions over the last 11 he’s played – one other at Wimbledon – with his last appearance in hardcourt competitions having come in Miami in March.
Just a tournament before that, Tabilo had shocked the world by making it through the qualifiers of the Indian Wells Masters and making the fourth round there. He can play on hardcourt surfaces.
On the other hand, Meligeni Alves avoids hardcourt competitions like nobody’s business and to put things in perspective he has featured in just 48 matches on such surfaces in his entire career. Compared to that, Melgeni Alves has been involved in 389 clay-court matches, leaving nobody in any doubt about where his preferences lie.
That’s also why Tabilo should have no difficulties getting past his opponent.
Tabilo v Meligeni Alves Tip
Tabilo to win: 1/2
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The 2023 Los Cabos Open will be played from July 31 to August 6. Get our ultimate guide on tennis betting and predictions here.
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