Firenze Open 2022: Maxime Cressy vs J.J. Wolf preview, head-to-head, prediction, odds and pick
Match Details
Fixture: (4) Maxime Cressy vs J.J. Wolf.
Date: October 12, 2022.
Tournament: Firenze Open 2022.
Round: Second round (Round of 16).
Venue: Firenze, Italy.
Category: ATP 250.
Surface: Hard.
Prize money: $612,000.
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | UK - Amazon Prime Video.
Maxime Cressy vs J.J. Wolf preview
Americans Maxime Cressy and J.J. Wolf are set to square off in the second round of the 2022 Firenze Open.
Cressy is in the midst of a breakout season. He started the year by reaching the final of the Melbourne Summer Set, defeating players like Reilly Opelka and Grigor Dimitrov along the way. He then lost to Rafael Nadal in straight sets. The American notched up his best result at a Major by making it to the fourth round of the Australian Open.
Cressy then went through a rough patch, winning just one match across the 11 tournaments he competed in. His losing skid came to an end at the Eastbourne International, where he reached his second final of the season. He put up quite the fight, but lost to compatriot Taylor Fritz in three sets. Cressy upset Felix Auger-Aliassime in the first round of Wimbledon, but lost to Jack Sock afterwards.
The American clinched his maiden ATP title at the Hall of Fame Open in Newport. His next best result was a quarterfinal finish at the Winston-Salem Open. Cressy was then knocked out in the first round of the US Open. He then competed at the Tel Aviv Open and made it to the last eight there.
Cressy competed in last week's Astana Open, but lost to Karen Khachanov in the first round. As the fourth seed in Firenze, he received a bye into the second round.
J.J. Wolf, meanwhile, was drawn against Francesco Maestrelli in the first round here. The Italian snagged a break in the very first game of the match. This solitary break of serve proved to be more than enough for him to capture the opening set.
Wolf was in danger of going down an early break at the start of the second set, but managed to hold serve. The American then stepped up his game as he broke his opponent's serve twice to clinch the set and take the match to a decider. The final set was a bit one-sided, with Wolf bagging five games in a row to win the match 4-6, 6-2, 6-1.
Maxime Cressy vs J.J. Wolf head-to-head
This will be the first meeting between them, so the head-to-head stands at 0-0 for now.
Maxime Cressy vs J.J. Wolf odds
All odds are sourced from BetMGM.
Maxime Cressy vs J.J. Wolf prediction
Wolf was off to a slow start against Maestrelli in the first round, but staged a comeback to win the match. He finished with 16 winners and 19 unforced errors, while winning 70% of his first serve points.
Cressy is the better server between the two, with the American not even holding back on his second serve as well. He's known to frequently serve and volley, so Wolf will constantly need to be on guard against that tactic.
Despite a few good results, Cressy has been largely inconsistent. Wolf certainly has a good shot at scoring an upset win here, especially if he's able to neutralize his opponent's serve and prolong the rallies. The contest could swing either way, but Cressy will be the slight favorite to come out on top as he has had a better season than his compatriot.
Pick: Maxime Cressy to win in three sets.