Gijs Brouwer vs James Duckworth Prediction & Betting Tips - ATP Houston

Prediction published on 01/04/2024, 06:23  by Steve Ashfield | Modified on 01/04/2024 at 07:24 in Tennis Predictions

Two players ranked outside the top 100 meet in round one of the US clay court championships. Qualifier Gijs Brouwer is ranked 199th with his opponent, James Duckworth in 105th place. The winner of this match will take on third seeded Frances Tiafoe in round two of this ATP 250 tournament. Brouwer had to play two qualifiers to get into the main draw. He had to go to three sets to get past Tristan Boyer in his first match. He probably didn't expect that after winning the first set to love. Eventually the Dutchman only got through by winning a third set tie-break. It was easier in his final qualifier as he beat Mitchell Krueger in straight sets. The 28-year-old is playing in the main draw of an ATP Tour event for the first time this year. He's played mainly on the Challenger Tour with one semi-final reached and a quarter final in Lugano last week. Brouwer has reached one Challenger Tour clay court final.

James Duckworth won the only previous meeting between the pair. That was last year and on an outdoor hard court. The Australian got to the quarter finals in Brisbane at the start of the year. The last eight in Dallas was also reached but both tournaments were on outdoor hard courts. This is his second clay court event of the year. Last week saw him in a Challenger Tour tournament in Mexico but lost in his second match losing to a player ranked outside the top 200. Not since 2019 has he won more than one clay court match in a year. We tip Brouwer to get the win here.