Roberto Carballes Baena vs Matteo Berrettini Prediction & Betting Tips - ATP Grand Prix Hassan II

Prediction published on 06/04/2024, 15:02  by Steve Ashfield | Modified on 06/04/2024 at 16:02 in Tennis Predictions

Two unseeded players contest the final of the Grand Prix Hassan II in Marrakech. Matteo Berrettini takes on Roberto Carballes Baena with the latter attempting to successfully defend the title he won last year. Berrettini is a former top ten ranked player and making another comeback from injury. He was 135th in the rankings at the start of this tournament but got into the main draw via his protected ranking. This run to the final has seen him rise to 95th and winning the title can take him as high as 84th. This ATP 250 tournament is only the third the Italian has played this year but he's in his second final. The other was a hard court Challenger Tour event. Berrettini has reached this final for the loss of two sets. He dropped one against Jaume Munar in round two. Berrettini then had to come from behind to get past seventh seed Mariano Navone in the semifinal. His good run this week has seen two other seeds beaten with Alexander Shevchenko and Lorenzo Sonego both being defeated.

Defending champion Roberto Carballes Baena was 64th in the last rankings but is down to 73rd in the live list. If he can retain his title, he'll be back to 64th. He must love it in Marrakech as his form before this tournament hasn't been good. The Spaniard played on the South American clay court tour but lost four of his five matches. Back in Marrakech he's beaten the third seed Daniel Evans, the only seed he's faced. Saturday's semifinal saw him defeat unseeded Pavel Kotov in straight sets for the loss of six games. He trails Berrettini 2-1 in previous meetings but this is their first match on clay. We go for Berrettini to win this final.