ATP Marseille 250: Men’s Singles Draw Preview, Analysis and Prediction for Open 13 Provence

ATP Marseille Open, a 250 event will commence from March 8 with tennis stars like Stefanos Tsitsipas, Daniil Medvedev and Karen Khachanov all in the mix to claim the title. The tournament will be played on hard courts with 28 entrants into the singles main draw. Stefanos Tsitsipas is the defending champion at the Open 13 Provence, having won back to back titles in 2019 and 2020.

Tournament Details:

• Tournament: Open 13 Provence
• Date: March 8-14, 2021
• Number of Entrants: 28 (Singles), 16 (Doubles)
• Venue: Marseille, France
• Surface: Hard Court
• Prize Money: €334,240
• Defending champion: Stefanos Tsitsipas

Top Seeds at the Marseille Open 2021

• Daniil Medvedev (Russia)
• Stefanos Tsitsipas (Greece)
• Karen Khachanov (Russia)
• Ugo Humbert (France)
• Jannik Sinner (Italy)

Men’s Draw Analysis and Prediction

Top Half

The top half of the draw has the likes of the top seed, Daniil Medvedev and third seed, Karen Khachanov. Both players have earned byes in the first round, by virtue of their higher ranking. The Russian, Medvedev has earned himself a tougher draw as has a potential clash with Egor Gerasimov in the second round, who can be a tough opponent on hard-courts. To make things even tougher, he might have to get past Jannik Sinner in the quarterfinals to book a semifinal berth.

Medvedev suffered a shock defeat in the first round of the Rotterdam Open but is expected to continue his dominance on hard courts and book himself a place in the semifinals. However, a potential quarterfinal clash against Jannik Sinner will be a mouth-watering clash. Karen Khachanov has a relatively straightforward draw, as he is expected to Mackenzie McDonald in the second round clash. Things might get a little tricky in the quarterfinals, as Khachanov is likely to face either of the French youngster, Benjamin Bonzi or Yoshihito Nishioka.

Khachanov had a decent run at the Rotterdam Open where he lost in the quarterfinals to Stefanos Tsitsipas. The Russian should book his place in the semifinals of the Marseille Open, where he will face fellow Russian, Daniil Medvedev.

First Semifinal Prediction: Daniil Medvedev vs Karen Khachanov

Bottom Half

The bottom half consists of the second seed, Stefanos Tsitsipas and the fourth seeded Frenchman, Ugo Humbert. Humbert has received a bye in the first round and will face either Tsonga or Feliciano Lopez in the second round. Both players are experienced campaigners, however, they are way past their best and are not expected to challenge Humbert.

Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, seventh seed at Open 13 is one of the most promising players in Spanish tennis. Fokina opens his campaign against Pedro Tsitsipas and is expected to progress to the quarterfinals where a potential clash against Humbert awaits. Fokina is more than capable of defeating top players on his day, and will defeat the local favorite, Humbert to book a semifinal berth. Stefanos Tsitsipas has also received a bye in the opening round. The defending champion is expected to face the Japanese, Kei Nishikori in the quarterfinals of the Marseille Open.

Nishikori played spectacular tennis at the Rotterdam Open before eventually falling to Borna Coric in the last eight. He is expected to trouble the second seed, however, Stefanos Tsitsipas is clearly the better out of the two players in the current scenario and he will book himself a semifinal berth.

Second Semifinal Prediction: Alejandro Davidovich Fokina vs Stefanos Tsitsipas

Semifinals

Daniil Medvedev and Karen Khachanov will clash against each other in all-Russian semifinal. Medvedev is expected to emerge victorious and end Khachanov’s run in the tournament. It should be a straight sets victory for the top seed as he books a final berth.

Stefanos Tsitsipas is expected to emerge victorious in another straight sets victory over Davidovich Fokina in the second semifinals, thus ending the Spaniard’s dream of lifting the title. With this victory, the second seeded Greek enters his third consecutive final in Marseille.

Final Prediction: Daniil Medvedev vs Stefanos Tsitsipas

Final

Stefanos Tsitsipas and Daniil Medvedev will lock horns in the final of the Open 13 Provence, which will be a replay of the 2021 Australian Open semifinal. Tsitsipas will avenge his loss against the Russian and claim his third consecutive title in Marseille. The match is expected to be a close three set match and will certainly be worth a watch.

To lift the Title: Stefanos Tsitsipas

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