Dominic Thiem vs Sebastian Ofner Prediction & Betting Tips - ATP Estoril Open

Prediction published on 03/04/2023, 09:33  by Steve Ashfield | Modified on 03/04/2023 at 12:16 in Tennis Predictions

Will a return to clay be good news for the two-time Roland Garros finalist Dominic Thiem? He takes on qualifier Sebastian Ofner in the Estoril Open first round. A win here will see the victor taking on either eighth seeded Ben Shelton or unseeded Constant Lestienne in round two. Thiem has had a tough time in the past few years due to injury. He's lost in the first round of each of his four Grand Slam tournaments and began this tournament ranked 111th. Only one of his nine singles matches this year has ended in victory for Thiem. That was a straight sets win over Alex Molcan on clay in Buenos Aires. He didn't build on that though and has lost each of the five matches he's played since then.

Sebastian Ofner started this Estoril Open ranked 11 places below Thiem. He had to play two qualifying matches to reach this main draw. That proved to be a tough assignment as he found himself a set down to Frederico Ferreira Silva in his final qualifier. He leveled the game by winning a second set tie-break and then only lost three games in the decider. That win took him into his first ATP Tour main draw since last July when he just happened to lose to Thiem in the last 16. His best before this was making it to the third qualifying round of the Australian Open. Most of his time since then has been spent on the Challenger Tour. He's reached three finals on that lesser tour, two of them on clay. The Portuguese player will have home support but it's Thiem who can get the win.