Montpellier Open 2023 Day 1: Men's singles predictions ft. Arthur Flis vs Richard Gasquet | Open Sud de France
The men's singles main draw action gets underway at the 2023 Open Sud de France in Montpellier on Monday (February 6).
The field is headlined by top seed and World No. 9 Holger Rune, who is coming off a fourth-round showing at the Australian Open last month. Jannik Sinner, Roberto Bautista Agut, Borna Coric and Filip Krajinovic are some of the other notable players in the field.
The Open Sud de France is one of four ATP 250 events during the year and has a total prize money of €562,815 on offer. The final is scheduled for Saturday (February 12).
On that note, here are the predictions for the two main draw matches on Day 1 of the event:
#1 (Wildcard) Arthur Fils vs Richard Gasquet (three-time Montpellier winner)
Home hope Richard Gasquet will open his campaign against wildcard Arthur Fils in an all-French singles clash at the 2023 Open Sud de France.
The World No. 45 is fresh off winning his 16th career singles title at the ASB Classic in Auckland last month. Gasquet is a three-time winner at Montpellier, capturing titles in 2013, 2015 and 2016.
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Meanwhile, Fils, ranked 163rd in the world, lost his only previous ATP Tour main-draw match at the 2022 Paris Masters. He's unlikely to cause much trouble to Gasquet, who has an impressive 28-7 record at the Open Sud de France in 10 previous appearances.
Prediction: Gasquet to win in straight sets
#2 Nikoloz Basilashvili vs Constant Lestienne
Nikoloz Basilashvili will look to open his account for the 2023 season at the third attempt when he takes on Frenchman Constant Lestienne in Montpellier tonight. The World No. 87 lost his season opener in Pune (to Marco Cecchinato) and the Australian Open (to Taylor Fritz).
Basilashvili has not won a match at the Open Sud de France in four previous attempts but has gone the distance on three occasions. He could have a tough job against World No. 48 Lestienne, who's off to a 4-2 start to the year and will make his main draw debut in Montpellier tonight.
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The two players will meet on tour for the first time, but the contest is likely to go the way of Lestienne, who is coming off a semifinal run at Auckland last month. Lestienne also won the pair's only Challenger Tour meeting at 2015 Mersin, Turkey.
Prediction: Lestienne to win in three sets.