Lorenzo Rottoli vs Thiago Monteiro Prediction & Betting Tips - Challenger Genoa Open

Prediction published on 07/09/2023, 03:00  by Devesh Jaganath | Modified on 07/09/2023 at 04:01 in Tennis Predictions

World number 124 Thiago Monteiro will take on qualifier Lorenzo Rottoli in the second round of the Genoa Challenger on Thursday. The winner of this match will face either Alexander Shevchenko or Chun-Hsin Tseng in the next round. Monteiro comes into this match following a three-set win over Stefano Travaglia in the last round. The Brazilian hasn’t been at his best of late, as he was knocked out of the Como Challenger event last month in the opening round. He then failed to get past the first qualification match for the US Open, losing to Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard in three sets. Monteiro’s best performance this season came in Santiago back in February, where he reached the third round. That was also the only time this season he has got past round two of an ATP event. The Brazilian’s record now stands at 19-26 for the year and 16-18 on the clay, which is his favoured surface. Despite dropping outside the top 100 this year, Monteiro is still the clear favourite in this match, according to the bookmakers. 

Meanwhile, 21-year-old Lorenzo Rottoli has already played three matches in this competition. The Italian overcame Gabriele Pennaforti and Miljan Zekic in straight sets during qualifying and then took down Francesco Maestrelli in three in the first round. Before this competition, Rottoli was beaten in his first qualifier at the Como Challenger event. The Italian has won three ITF titles this season, though only one of those was on the clay back in April. That came in the M25 Santa Margherita di Pula event, where he beat Giovanni Oradini in the final match. Rottoli has steadily improved his ranking this year from outside the top 700 to inside 450th at present, with a record of 34-18 and 18-14 on the clay. Still, against a significantly higher-ranked opponent here, the Italian is the clear outsider.