Max Purcell vs Marcos Giron Prediction & Betting Tips - ATP Mutua Madrid Open

Prediction published on 23/04/2024, 07:07  by Steve Ashfield | Modified on 23/04/2024 at 08:07 in ATP Mutua Madrid Open Predictions

Max Purcell will hope for a return to form when he faces Marcos Giron in round one of the Madrid Masters. He'll need that if wanting to secure a second round match against 25th-seeded Sebastian Korda. The Australian comes into this outdoor clay court tournament in poor form. Five of his last six matches have ended in defeat. This is only his second clay court tournament of the year and his first in Europe. His only other venture onto this surface in 2024 was at the US Clay Court Championships in Houston. That saw him lose in the second round to Michael Mmoh who is ranked outside the top 100. Purcell is 84th in the live ranking, well below the career-high of 40th he achieved last year.

Marcos Giron is up to 48th in the live rankings. He had good form on hard courts earlier this year with a final reached in Dallas. Now he turns his attention to clay. The American is playing his third clay court tournament of the year. His first was in the US Clay Court Championships where he made it to the quarter-finals. He had two good wins over Denis Shapovalov and J J Wolf before losing to Luciano Darderi. It didn't go so well in Monte Carlo where he lost to Zhizhen Zhang in his first match. Giron has reached the third round at Roland Garros twice in the past, including last year. He's in the better form of these two players and can beat Purcell in straight sets.