Dušan Lajović vs Thiago Monteiro Prediction & Betting Tips - ATP Mutua Madrid Open

Prediction published on 24/04/2024, 07:18  by Steve Ashfield | Modified on 24/04/2024 at 08:18 in ATP Mutua Madrid Open Predictions

After a good run in Barcelona last week, Dusan Lajovic tries to continue his good form in the Madrid Masters. He takes on the qualifier Thiago Monteiro in the first round of this outdoor clay court tournament. There's a tough match for the winner with the scheduled opponent being sixth seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas who is in top form. Lajovic is up to 61st in the live rankings but doing better in the ATP Race. He's up to 38th on that list thanks to his run to the semi-finals in Barcelona last week. He had some good wins with Arthur Fils, Alejandro Davidovich-Fokina and Ugo Humbert beaten before leading Tsitsipas but losing in three sets. He reached the last eight of this tournament six years ago. Two ATP clay court tournaments have been won by Lajovic, the most recent being last year.

Thiago Monteiro had to play two qualifiers to claim a place in the first round of this tournament. Both went to three sets with him having to come from a set down in his first match. The Brazilian is down at 114th in the live rankings and 103rd in the ATP Race. His best clay court run this year was in the ATP Tour event held in Rio but he did have a bit of luck that week. He took on Carlos Alcaraz but his opponent retired after just two games due to injury. Monteiro went on to reach the last eight. His best run has been a semi-final in the Santa Cruz Challenger Tour event but he didn't beat any player ranked in the top 240. His last three Challenger Tour events on this surface have seen him win just one match. We tip Lajovic to win this match in straight sets.