Some of the first round action at the 2023 Italian Open will see Brandon Nakashima take on Gregoire Barrere and Sebastian Baez face Juan Pablo Varillas. Get the latest odds along the predictions, preview and head to head for these matches along with Maxime Cressy v Guido Pella and Marco Cecchinato v Mackenzie McDonald.
Brandon Nakashima v Gregoire Barrere Preview
Head to head: The 44th-ranked Nakashima and world number 56 Barrere have never faced off before this.
Nakashima will enter the Italian Open having not played an ATP match on clay before and just one encounter on the Challenger circuit on this surface. He featured in the Miami Masters late in March before returning to crash to a first round to Harold Mayot at the Aix en Provence Challenger last week.
And it’s not like Nakashima has done too well on his favourite, hardcourt surface either, having featured in five tournaments this season and won just three matches. That’s underwhelming by any standards but more so for a world number 44.
He takes on Barrere who played in that very Challenger tournament last week and edged out in his opener too. The difference is that Barrere was also a part of the Monte-Carlo Masters, Banja Luka Open and the Madrid Masters and won a round at the last two.
He could prove to be a problem for Nakashima.
Nakashima v Barrere Tip
Barrere to win a set – Yes: 4/9
Sebastian Baez v Juan Pablo Varillas Preview
Head to head: Over the last four years, these two have faced off eight times including five matches on the Challenger circuit and Baez leads 6-2. In the main draw, at the highest level, Baez is 2-0 ahead which includes a Rio Open win earlier this season.
In what seems to be an exciting match-up between two clay-court specialists, Baez will hold a slight edge but don’t expect Varillas to wither away without a whimper.
This is because Varillas loves clay as much as his opponent and has, in the past as well, made life difficult for the Argentine. Sure, Baez is a superior player on most counts but only just and on an off-day Varillas could take advantage of that.
Baez is coming off a third round appearance at the Madrid Masters where he nearly got the better of Stefanos Tsitsipas. Varillas was knocked out in the first round of that very tournament.
Baez v Varillas Tip
Baez to win AND Over 20.5 games: 8/5
Maxime Cressy v Guido Pella Preview
Head to head: No previous matches have been played between the 39th-ranked Cressy and the world number 485 Pella.
While the difference in the ranking between these two players, as can be seen above, is stark, Cressy comes into this match on the back of seven successive defeats across different surfaces.
The American has lost indoors and outdoors in hardcourt competitions and fell in the openers at the Marrakesh Open, Monte-Carlo Masters and the Madrid Masters. At least in the last of these tournaments, Cressy managed to put up a fighting display which saw him take Stan Wawrinka to a third set tie-breaker.
What needs to be seen is if he can now finally get a win under his belt against the former world number 20 Pella, who has barely been in action over the last two years. The Argentine was out of play because of an injury and at the start of this year was outside the top 1000 in the rankings.
Three wins this season have propelled him into the top 500 and he might not be an easy target for the woefully out of form Cressy despite what the rankings might suggest.
Cressy v Pella Tip
Pella to win: 13/10
Mackenzie McDonald v Marco Cecchinato Preview
Head to head: They have faced off once before with McDonald having won their 2021 Australian Open battle in four sets.
Cecchinato is inching forward on the ATP Rankings charts with the former world number 16 having broken back into the top 100 and risen to 83rd at the moment. And this has been thanks to his showing on clay.
At the Estoril Open last month, Cecchinato found a way past Diego Schwartzman, Fabio Fognini and Alejandro Davidovich Fokina to make the semifinal. More recently, he qualified for the Madrid Masters and surprised Marton Fucsovics in the opener.
On the other hand, McDonald has had a solid season overall but has done nothing of note on clay. Since reaching the third round of the Miami Masters, in fact, the American has lost five matches in a row including four on clay.
This includes a straight-set defeat at the Cagliari Challenger to Taro Daniel and that is the reason why he starts off an underdog in this one.
Cecchinato v McDonald Tip
Cecchinato to win: 8/11
[the_ad id=”30513″]
The 2023 Rome Masters will be played from May 9 to 21. Get your latest premium tennis predictions here.
Be the first to comment