Jan-Lennard Struff vs Carlos Alcaraz Prediction & Betting Tips - ATP Mutua Madrid Open

Prediction published on 29/04/2024, 06:01  by Steve Ashfield | Modified on 29/04/2024 at 07:01 in ATP Mutua Madrid Open Predictions

Second seed Carlos Alcaraz is bidding to become the first player to win the Madrid Masters three times in a row. In the last 16 of this year's tournament, he takes on the 23rd seeded Jan-Lennard Struff. In the quarter-finals the winner of this match will face either seventh seeded Andrey Rublev or Tallon Griekspoor who is the 24th seed. This match is a repeat of last year's final in this outdoor clay court tournament. Alcaraz won that match in three sets, losing the second. He's 2-1 up on Struff in previous meetings, winning the last two played. He did lose to Struff at Roland Garros in 2022. Alcaraz is in good form though and so far in Madrid he's had wins over Alexander Shevchenko and Thiago Seyboth Wild. Both were straight sets wins and only nine games have been dropped by the Spaniard.

Alcaraz is yet to win a tournament this year but his opponent has and on clay. Struff won the BMW Open in Munich and is 24th in the latest world rankings. The German is under pessure though as he's defending the points he earned when reaching the 2023 Madrid Masters final. That's why he's down to 40th in the live rankings so a loss here would see him battling to be seeded at Roland Garros. Struff has also had two straight sets wins so far in this tournament. The last round saw him beat Ugo Humbert who was seeded 13th. This is tougher but we go for Alcaraz to win in straight sets.