ATP Tournament in Puerto Vallarta, 1st round, Tuesday, 07.03.2023
A “small” Challenger in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, is the scene of our tennis tips on Tuesday, because one thing is already certain: A German will definitely be allowed to cheer!
The defending champion doesn’t want to show any weakness in the 1st round, he definitely knows his opponent well enough. In my Altmaier Koepfer tip, I reveal why I follow Bet-at-Home’s assessment and see the winner of 2021 in front!
The tournament in Puerto Vallarta is still young and belongs to the Challenger category. Objectively, this means that if we go by the world rankings, we won’t find the best players here.
From a German perspective, however, it will be interesting right from the start. In 2021, the third time the tournament was held, a German, Daniel Altmaier, stood at the top of the podium. He will enter the ring as the defending champion.
After the competition could not take place in 2022, the motivation is all the greater. Altmaier is number 95, but he wants to climb up a few places this year and then maintain this level.
So far, if we look at the results, things are not going according to plan. The 24-year-old is not exactly a lucky man, but he quickly draws the really big numbers in the draw.
Frances Tiafoe in round 1 at the Australian Open, John Isner in Dallas, and Altmaier even held his own against these two. In Delray he failed in three sets against Adrian Mannarino, in Monterry it was the quarter-finals against Nuno Borges.
Altmaier has been in Mexico for some time now and had actually intended to go far in Acapulco. However, Brandon Nakashima was too much for him at the start. 3-6, 6-3, 1-6, one strong set was not enough.
Now it’s Puerto Vallarta, where Altmaier knows how it feels to win. Two years ago he celebrated a 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 against Alejandro Tabilo. Seeded at position 1, he naturally does not want to show any weaknesses in the opening match.
Although he knows Dominik Koepfer quite well, the two have never faced each other directly. Our betting providers believe that Altmaier has good chances of winning.
But they are not too euphoric, as the odds show an average of 1.55 to 2.20. Dominik Koepfer is considered to have good chances, and that despite the fact that he is being pushed further and further down the rankings.
The 28-year-old was once Germany’s second-best tennis player behind Alexander Zverev, but those days are long gone. A number of injuries have also meant that Koepfer just can’t find his way back to his old strength.
His start to the season was delayed considerably, he even had to miss the Australian Open. He returned to the court at the Challenger in Rome at the end of February, but only very briefly.
3-6, 1-6 against Alex Michelsen, that was nothing. A short time later in Waco on American soil, he suffered his second defeat, this time after a 6-2, 4-6, 4-6 loss to Marco Trungelliti.
His service was not powerful enough, the concentration was not there. After the last many months, that may not be surprising, but against Daniel Altmaier, the main thing will be not to get into trouble from the start.
My Altmaier Koepfer Tip
Daniel Altmaier or Dominik Koepfer, who will get the ticket to the 2nd round in Puerto Vallarta on Tuesday? In the German duel, our bookmakers see only a limited favourite, the odds are relatively even.
After my analysis, however, I come to the conclusion that there can only be one winner. Koepfer has only been in the season for a few weeks and continues to fall. Since both rhythm and performance are clearly stronger in Altmaier’s case, my tip is:
Altmaier beats Koepfer and also wins the first set!
