ATP tournament in Montpellier, 1st round, Tuesday, 30.01.2024
After the disappointing exit in round one at the Australian Open, Maximilian Marterer now wants to attack in Montpellier. However, he faces a very tough opponent at the Open Sud de France, Arthur Cazaux.
The Frenchman is playing at his home tournament, was born in Montpellier and surprised everyone at the Australian Open by reaching the round of 16.
An exciting opponent for the 92nd player in the world, but in my Marterer Cazaux betting tip I don’t think he has too good a chance with the bet “Set 1 and match win for Cazaux”. Bet365 beckons with strong odds of 1.69 and a live stream of the match
Marterer was beaten in three sets by Nuno Borges at the Australian Open, a mixed start to the 2024 tennis year. Like many other tennis pros, he did not play any preparation matches.
After all, he was a substitute for the German team at the United Cup. He would have stepped in if Alexander Zverev had been injured. As a result, he went into the match against the Portuguese player quite cold, but he also played a brilliant tournament, reaching the round of 16, clearly his best in his career to date.
Marterer at least made it into the tiebreak in the second round and should generally try to pick up the positive energy from the United Cup and the Challenger tournament he won in Danderyd, Sweden, before the winter break
He will need it against Cazaux in round one of Montpellier. The 21-year-old is at home on the courts of the southern French city, he knows the course and also has the support of the fans on his side.
On a physical level, the 21-year-old is already one of the figureheads on the ATP Tour. Everyone knows that after his surprise victory over Holger Rune in Melbourne.
The development of the odds for the match between Marterer and Cazaux is particularly exciting. Initially, the Frenchman was only just ahead of the German, but our bookmakers have now lowered the Cazaux odds to 1.37, and Marterer is now the underdog at 3.00.
Like the newly crowned Australian Open winner Jannik Sinner, who had to choose between giant slalom and tennis, Cazaux was also faced with a decision in his teenage years, with a handball career to choose from in addition to the sport with racket and felt ball.
A decision that was not easy for either athlete, but they both benefit from their former parallel sport. For Sinner it is his agile hips and for Cazaux also “the speed, agility and stamina”, as he revealed in Melbourne.
As a result, he mixed up the tennis elite in Melbourne instead of lifting the European Championship trophy with Nikola Karabatic and Co. if he had made his breakthrough in handball. In any case, he played in the best teams in his youth.
But he also proved that he has incredible potential in tennis with his successes against Rune and Tallon Griekspoor, among others. He also made life difficult for Hubert Hurkacz in the round of 16, serving 18 aces before losing in the tie-breaks
In his home country, he wants to confirm his form after his small breakthrough. In Marterer, he has a strong server as an opponent who needs a good rate of first serves and variation to avoid getting entangled in rallies against the bustling Cazaux.
His serve was unreliable at the Australian Open and Marterer only reached the 60 percent mark once in Sweden before the turn of the year. Marterer himself should not be allowed too many break opportunities.
Even Rune only managed four break chances, Griekspoor not even one in Melbourne. The Frenchman has the advantage on serve and return against Marterer, whose winning percentage is a little too low.
For winning the first set and match, however, he has 1.69. Betano, on the other hand, convinces with tasty odds for a tiebreak in the match, which is not uncommon in fast hard court conditions
My Marterer Cazaux tip
Cazaux should give us a lot of pleasure in the coming years. The fast man from Montpellier is in the main draw of his home tournament for the first time and has made incredible progress in recent months. He knows his home courts much better than Marterer, who is playing there for the first time.
After reaching the round of 16 in Melbourne, Cazaux has jumped to 83rd place in the world rankings and now wants to set the next highlights. For a player of 1.83 meters, he serves very strongly and is also extremely agile on the court, a dangerous mix for any opponent.
Marterer, on the other hand, has mostly failed to hit first serves in his past matches and is also likely to have a tough time in the rallies. After all, he has to take a lot of risks with his shots, as his opponent will run through all the balls.
In this matchup, I clearly see Cazaux as the favorite and therefore place the following bet in the first duel between the players.
My Marterer Cazaux tip: Cazaux win set 1 & match
